Hummingbird
by infinite vertigo
Summary: A collection of NejiTen drabbles. Eternity: AU "If two people are meant to be, they will find their way back together."  Genre: Romance
1. Chest Bindings

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title:**__ Chest Bindings_

_**Genre:**__ Romance; humor_

_**Pairings:**__ NejiTen_

_**Word count: **__911_

_**Summary:**__ Neji always knew he was genius. He had a solution for every problem on the planet. Tenten, however, thinks his solutions are absolute crap._

**Chest Bindings**

_"So Neji, good spar today!" Tenten grinned happily as she walked with Neji, her hands were clasped behind her back and she literally skipped while walking with him._

_ Yeah. Despite the cuts, bruises, various internally damaged organs, but they were healed immediately, and her tomboy attitude, she was literally skipping._

_ "Hn." Neji grunted absentmindedly as he began to notice something._

_ Guys were _staring_ at Tenten._

His. Tenten.

_And they were grinning pervertedly and whispering to each other._

_ So, ignoring Tenten's jabberings, Neji began to stare at her to see why the hell they would stare at her for so long._

_ Her face? Well yeah, she was pretty put… why'd they whisper it?_

_ Hair? Unique, everyone did stare at it but… not pervertedly…_

_ Legs?_

_ …The hell?_

_ Did her shirt have that many cuts?_

_ …_

_ …_Oh.

**-X-x-X-**

Tenten stared at herself in the mirror and frowned as she tightened the bandages behind her back.

Why the hell did Neji suddenly tell her to wear _chest bindings_ instead of bras?

She wasn't even allowed to wear sports bras anymore.

What the hell was _wrong_ with him?

**-X-x-X-**

Neji smirked to himself as he leaned against the tree and twisted the top off his water bottle as he waited for Tenten to arrive.

Yup. He had realized men stared at Tenten because of her figure. Obviously he wouldn't make her get a fatter waist or thin her hips, but he could decrease her… er, yeah.

He was so a genius for a reason.

**-X-x-X-**

"Whoa… look at that chick… wasn't she like, way hotter yesterday?"

"Oh my God, I know… what happened to her chest?"

"…Did the Hyuuga do anything?"

"Holy shit, was she stuffing her bra yesterday?"

Tenten's lips twitched and self control fought against natural instinct as her fingers brushed the handle of the kunai lightly. She tried to ignore the whispers and walk calmly to the training grounds like usual but…

"Well. That Hinata chick should tell her what she's been eating."

"WILL YOU JUST _SHUT UP_ ALREADY?"

THOK.

"WHAT THE…"

"AND I WON'T MISS NEXT TIME. SO JUST SHUT UP AND SCRAM!"

"RUN!" the boys screamed girlishly and ran off in separate directions as Tenten seethed, steam almost literally coming out of her ears.

**-X-x-X-**

Oh yeah. Neji was a genius all right.

He had gotten rid of the majority of the perverts.

And now she's even stronger!

Genius. Pure-

Damn, a kunai got him again.

"My my Neji," Tenten landed in front of him, smiling mockingly. "And you're always telling me to pay attention."

Neji smirked and pulled the kunai out of his shoulder, and pressed his hand against the wound after dropping the weapon. "You're getting better."

"Damn right I'm getting better. Thanks to you I'm known as the flat-chested chick who hasn't entered puberty." Tenten glared at him and pulled out another scroll.

"Excuse me?"

Tenten huffed in annoyance and dropped the scroll and pulled out a roll of bandages from her backpack instead. "Thanks to you and your idea of chest bindings, I am now officially nearly flat chested. Why don't you tell Hinata to wear chest bindings?"

"…Are you saying my cousin's…"

"Neji. Admit it. Everyone in the village knows it."

"…"

"So." Tenten continued as she cut his shirt with the dropped kunai smoothly. "I'm wearing a bra tomorrow."

Neji stared at her.

For one thing, she was stripping him.

Another, she was telling him what she was going to wear under her shirt the next day.

And the third thing, she was _disobeying him._

"…What size bra do you wear?"

Crap.

Tenten raised and eyebrow slowly. "…What?"

"...I mean, why not the chest bindings?"

The corner of Tenten's lips quirked up. "Hyuuga Neji, you were inquiring what size bra I wear."

"…I was not."

"Were too."

"Was no."

"NEJI."

"What?"

Tenten smiled slightly as she tied the bandages behind his back. "There, that should stop the bleeding. And I am so telling Hanabi you want to know…"

"I DO NOT."

Neji glared at her. "Chest bindings."

"No."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to. It doesn't piss me off that much, but it does severely annoy me."

"Then too bad. Wear them.

"Why?"

"I told you."

Tenten clenched her fist, "I DON'T want to wear the damn chest bindings!"

"Why the hell not?" he glared at her.

After all, it wasn't everyday that someone disobeyed him.

"I DON'T WANT TO!"

"WELL TOO BAD, I'M TELLING YOU TO…"

"HYUUGA NEJI, IF I WANT TO WEAR A BRA, I CAN WEAR A BRA. YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO PREVENT A GIRL FROM WEARING A BRA."

"WEAR THE DAMN CHEST BINDINGS. WHAT'S WRONG WITH THEM?"

"I LOOK FLAT CHESTED AND LIKE I HAVEN'T REACHED PUBERTY YET. DAMN YOU HYUUGA NEJII, I AM 15 YEARS OLD, OKAY?"

"IF YOU DON'T WEAR THEM THEN PERVERTS ARE GOING UNDRESS YOU WITH THEIR EYES AGAIN."

"...Are you serious?"

"Dead serious."

Tenten frowned again. "…Well then… The only way to solve this is…"

"…What?"

Tenten grinned and leaned in, touching her forehead against his. "The only way that I can be satisfied and you be content is for them to know I'm taken."

"Taken? By what?"

"By you." She whispered softly and closed the small gap between them, kissing him tenderly.

"…You had this planned, didn't you…" Neji murmured softly, smirking slightly.

"Yes I did. But you know, just because I'm yours doesn't mean I'm not telling Hanabi…"

"Don't you dare."

**Author's Notes: Edited; only changed the super long period parades and colloquialism. **


	2. The Sweet Life of Baby Clothes

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title:**__ The Sweet Life of Baby Clothes_

_**Genre:**__ Romance; humor_

_**Pairings:**__ NejiTen_

_**Word count:**__ 1,126_

_**Summary:**__ Hyuuga Neji did not like shopping or children, period. So why was he shopping for someone else's kid?_

**The Sweet Life of Baby Clothes**

_"Neji…"_

"Go away."

_"Neji…"_

"I said…"

_"NEJI!"_

"WHAT?" Neji yelled in an irritated manner. He bolted up, rubbing a silver eye in annoyance and glared at his wife who was down on all fours in front of him.

"Good morning!" Tenten grinned. Her hair was in two messy buns, note, 'messy'. Strands of chocolate brown hair framed her pretty face and brushed against her cheek softly whenever she turned or tilted her head.

"What do you want…?"

"I want to go shopping!"

"My wallet is on the kitchen counter…"

"NO! You're coming with!" Tenten wailed and pounced on him, her arms around her husband's neck firmly.

"Why?" Neji groaned, "All I do is stand there and nod or shake my head. Do you know embarrassing it is to go into a store for women's undergarments?"

"Well it's not for me!"

"Oh God. Not for Yamanaka. NO."

"No! Not Ino either! Let's just go!" Tenten buried her face against the crook of his neck, making him squirm quite a bit.

"T-Tenten, stop that!"

"Then get dressed."

"Stop that!"

"Then get up! Or I'm sleeping on the couch!"

"Okay okay, I'll get up."

**-X-x-X-**

"Tenten. Tell me what this is about. Now," Neji growled and glanced over at Tenten.

Tenten smiled softly, "Well Sakura and Sasuke left for a mission, so I'm taking care of Kuke-kun!"

"…And you have to buy it clothes."

"Him! Not 'it' Neji, that's rude!"

"Hn."

Tenten frowned and glanced down at the child, smiling. The child was about 10 months old, and was a bit bigger than a loaf of bread. He had his mother's warm green eyes and his father's pale skin and raven hair. As a baby, his hands and feet were small, but soft and like all babies, they had a strong grip. Especially on hair.

Tenten cradled the small child lovingly and smiled at him warmly, "Neji… do you hate kids?"

"I don't love them."

"Well… would you… I mean… want to… try for one…?" she asked softly and looked off into the distance, a fierce blush on her face.

Neji glanced over, "Sorry Tenten, I didn't catch that. Mind repeating it?"

"…It was nothing. There it is! Let's go!" Tenten grinned happily and grabbed onto Neji's wrist and dragged him into the mall.

_Lord save me._

**-X-x-X-**

"Neji… how about this?"

"…Tenten, that's probably too big for the baby…" Neji glanced at the skimpy nightgown. It was black, but it ended a little above mid thigh, and thin spaghetti straps held it up, otherwise it would definitely fall. It was pretty much see-through even though it was black. But it did look fun to rip off…

Tenten giggled, "It's not for Kuke-kun. It's for me!"

_Thank you Lord for your help._

Tenten draped the nightgown over her unoccupied arm and sifted through the racks, and added a couple more, ahem, undergarments to her pile.

"What about this?" Tenten asked, pulling out a tiny pajama set.

"…Tenten, that's too small for you…" Neji said slowly and stared at it. Hell, her hand probably wouldn't even fit in the sleeve.

"It's not for me silly! It's for the baby!" Tenten laughed, and Kuke began to laugh too, "So, do you like it?" she looked at it again. It was made of silk dyed blue, and the hems were a darker shade of blue. There were stitchings resembling the Akatsuki red clouds, only in gold thread, and small stars scattered on it.

"I guess."

"Okay!"

"Uwaaaah!" the small child suddenly crooned reaching towards a mitten.

"Does Kuke-kun like the mitten?"

"Wai!"

Tenten smiled motherly and took the pair of mittens from the rack and handed them to Kuke.

"…One!"

"…What're you going to do with one mitten…?"

"ONE!"

"They only come in…"

"ONE!"

Tenten raised an eyebrow, "Kuke-kun, mittens come in a pair. They all have two…"

"ONE!" Kuke wailed loudly.

"Okay, okay!" Tenten flushed as people started to look in their direction. She pulled out one of her kunais and cut the string that held the mittens together, and gave one of them to Kuke, "There."

"Uwaaah…"

"…Tenten, you plan on paying for that right."

"No duh Neji."

**-X-x-X-**

"Kuke-kun, anything else you want?" Tenten asked tickling the baby.

"Ahaha!"

"Tenten… isn't this enough?" Neji asked slowly and motioned toward the clothes he held in his arms.

"No! Kuke-kun wants more!"

"Tenten, that's not our kid."

"Too bad! I always wanted a kid to shop for!"

"If you wanted a kid then why didn't you, er… talk it over with me?" he suggested, struggling to keep his composure. His eyes darted from Tenten's face to the rack of baby t-shirts, while waiting for her answer.

Tenten stared at him and felt a blush rise, ignoring the squirming in the bundle of blankets in her arms, until she finally regained her senses.

"…Well um… I see a cute coat! Let's go!" Tenten said happily and spun around to hide her fierce blush.

"Isn't that cute?" he heard Tenten croon to Kuke.

_Baby clothes are a hell of a lot worse than shopping for Tenten's own clothes._

**-X-x-X-**

"They said to meet them by the exit of Konoha…" Tenten looked around and cradled Kuke.

"TENTEN! NEJI!" Sakura called from a far distance, "Hurry up Sasuke-kun!"

"Hey Sakura!" Tenten greeted as the pink haired medic stopped in front of her.

"Thanks for watching Kuke-chan today!" Sakura grinned and took back her child from Tenten, "Was he all right?"

"He was fine!" Tenten grinned, "We had a great day, didn't we, Kuke-kun?"

"Uwaaaah!"

"Oi Uchiha."

"What?"

"Here," Neji said gruffly and threw Sasuke about five carrier bags, "Tenten bought those for your kid."

"…" Sasuke's lips twitched, "You were shopping for another couple's kid?"

"Not my idea."

"See you around Sakura!" Tenten waved as the Uchiha couple disappeared.

"We don't have a child and we literally spent the entire day shopping for my rival's kid," Neji noted and leaned against the lamp pole while Tenten sat down on the bench, her bag with the purchase for herself next to her.

Tenten stood up slowly and stood in front of the Hyuuga, smiling innocently.

Neji raised an eyebrow as Tenten stepped closer to him. "Tenten, what do you have in mind this time?"

"I know an excuse to shop for baby clothes, and I have the perfect outfit too," Tenten grinned slyly and latched her arms around Neji's neck, and tilted her head to the right to motion at the purchase she had made for herself today and her eyes glinted, "Do you?"

The Hyuuga smirked in response and placed his hand on her hips and pulled her closer, "Of course I do. And I know just the right place at home to do it."

**Author's Notes: Edited.**


	3. When It Rains

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title:**__ When It Rains_

_**Genre:**__ Romance; angst_

_**Pairings:**__ NejiTen_

_**Word count:**__ 1,169_

_**Summary:**__ When it rains, he becomes a completely different person._

**When It Rains**

_My boyfriend is Hyuuga Neji._

_He doesn't show public displays of affection._

_He doesn't show how much he cares for me that often._

_He will only show he cares when we are in absolute privacy._

_But when it rains, he's a completely different person._

**Flashback**

_"Tenten!"_

_I heard him distantly call my name through the rain, but I ignored him and continued to run, wiping away my tears furiously. Damnit, if he doesn't care for me, there's no reason why I should be crying over him. _

_"Tenten, what's wrong with you?" he demanded and grabbed my arm, jerking me around. __His long hair clung to the sides of his face, and the darkness contrasted against his silver eyes and pale skin. Even though he was glaring at me, he looked better than ever. __Too bad I was too pissed at him to notice._

_"Go away Neji!" I tried to escape his grasp, and more tears flowed freely, but no avail, he wouldn't let me go. "I said, let me go! Go back to whoever the hell you were with back there already!" _

_"Why are you so angry because I was with another woman?"_

_"Because I freakin' love you!" I screamed, and pounded my fists against his chest, but they got weaker as I broke down. "I… love you… so much, and you never… notice it!"_

_His eyes softened as he pulled me towards him. His arms embraced me, and even though it was freezing outside and raining heavily, it felt warm and peaceful to have him with me. He rested his chin on my head as I continued to cry, grabbing onto his robes. _

_"You… don't love me at all... and…"_

_"Tenten…" he whispered and pulled back slightly, just enough to tilt my chin up with his finger. I was forced to make eye contact with him. "You have no idea…"_

_And then he kissed me._

**End flashback**

When it rains, he becomes a completely different person. He'll show how much he cares for me, even if it's in public.

Other times, he's as cold and distant as ever. The village is aware of our current status as boyfriend and girlfriend. But very few people can actually say they've seen us doing something a couple would do.

We rarely went to the movies. And when we did, I had to refrain myself from holding his hand when the horror scenes appeared.

We rarely went out to eat together. When we did though, he would never smile at me gently or show he cared. We would eat in silence, maybe exchange some words, then he would pay the bill and we would leave.

If anyone saw us together, we were probably training together. If I got injured, he might let his caring side show, but that wasn't very often either.

We would be the first to greet each other back from a mission, but we would not openly show how worried we were.

He would rush to the hospital to make sure I was alright, but he would not say how scared he was to lose me when there were people around.

No one ever saw us. And if they did, it was raining. But not many people walk around in the rain, so almost no one ever saw us show any affection for each other.

**Flashback**

_I sat down on a bench and sighed as my bangs framed my face. I was wet and cold, but I knew he would be here. He was always out and wandering when it was raining._

_"Tenten."_

_"I knew you'd be here."_

_He smiled gently and sat down next to me, and draped his semi-wet jacket over me. "Why are you out here in the rain?"_

_"Because you'd be here."_

_"That's no reason for you to get wet."_

_That was the conversation we always had when he found me waiting for him at the same bench when it was literally pouring. He knew I was waiting for him, and he never let me down. _

_He pulled me closer to him. "You shouldn't always wait for me. You'll catch a cold. How do you know I'll always be out in the rain looking for you?"_

_"I just know you will." I answered and smiled, looking up._

_He kissed my forehead gently, and we sat there in the rain, just enjoying each others' presence._

**End flashback**

It was always like that. That was the only time he would openly display affection if it was in public.

Sometimes I get sick of it and start doubting if he really truly cares for me like I care for him. I hate having to hold back in public, and I always have to make sure there's no one in the entire Hyuuga estate before I can cling onto him and murmur how much I love him.

It sucks sometimes. It really sucks.

But it's worth it.

**Flashback**

_I sat down next to Neji on the futon, and relaxed as I cautiously intertwined my fingers with his freehand, his other hand was holding a book. I waited for his reaction. Sometimes he would freeze for a moment before hesitantly holding my hand. Other times he would take his hand away and indicate there was still someone in the estate. _

_And other times, like right now, he would hold my hand without hesitating, and give me all his attention._

_I glanced over and smiled shyly as he put his book down and he gazed over at me. _

_It's at times like these, that I feel he truly and utterly cares for me._

_And it's at times like these that I hate it when someone comes back._

_I heard a faint slam, indicating someone had returned. "Neji, someone's ba…"_

_"It's probably an elder, in the opposite side of the estate…" he muttered and leaned over, cutting me off by gently pressing his lips against mine. "He won't come over here. Main house, excluding Hiashi-sama and Hinata-sama, never come over to the branch house." _

_"But Neji, what if…" I gasped sharply as he pushed me down and towered over me, our hands still interlocked. "He might come over here to…"_

_I closed my eyes slowly as he kissed me again, and pushed all thoughts of worry away from my mind._

_Sometimes the pain and heartbreak is unbearable and I think about giving up._

_But at times like now, it's all worth it._

**End flashback**

It's unbearable sometimes. I think about giving up, screaming out loud, and telling him off.

But…

It's not his fault. He has his pride to keep. Pride of the Hyuuga clan. Recognition from Hiashi-san. He wants to make his deceased father proud. That's why he can't be as open as the others.

That's why he hides his feelings.

That's why he only shows he cares in private, where no one will think differently of him.

That's why I love him.

_My boyfriend does not show public displays of affection._

_But when it rains…_

_He's a completely different person._

**Author's Notes: Edited.**


	4. Designer

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title:**__ Designer_

_**Genre:**__ Romance; humor_

_**Pairings:**__ NejiTen_

_**Word count:**__ 1,333_

_**Summary:**__ Tenten thought the new mall in Konoha was the worst idea in the world. Unfortunately, her friends think otherwise. Fortunately, Neji agrees with her._

**Designer**

As a tomboy, Tenten hated frilly things.

Hot pink frills on a disgustingly short dress scared her. And frankly, Tenten did not get scared.

Of course, she was only one female in the village. Ino, Sakura, Hinata, all those others loved to go shopping.

Shopping.

_Shopping._

The mere word itself scared the living daylights out of her. This 'shopping' activity consisted hours of aching feet, heavy bags, sore arms, headaches, too many dressing rooms, and that stupid sound of the till.

_"Your total is sixty seven dollars."_

_ "Your total is five dollars and sixty three cents."_

_ "Would you like the matching suit?"_

Yes. Those words of the shop assistants. The assistants the devil sent to Konohagakure's new mall to torture her.

And who does she blame for all this?

"OH MY GOD, IT'S PRADA! THEY HAVE PRADA SHOES HERE!"

"NO, WE'RE GOING TO COACH FIRST, FOREHEAD GIRL. I NEED A NEW SCARF."

"I-I like Burberry…"

Designers.

Tenten absolutely hated them. It was their fault they designed these stupid articles of clothing, their fault she was pissed off, their fault she was dragged on this shopping trip.

And damnit, today was the day she swore to herself she'd pledge her undying love for the one and only Hyuuga Neji, damnit!

Okay so that doesn't sound like her.

Want it in a language that'll sound better?

_She was going to confess to Hyuuga Neji today._

But of course, the 'designers' had to walk on this Earth, move to France, eat little dainty croissants and sip their cappuccinos carefully, and draw clothing to torture her with, for malls to stock, for her best friends to obsess over.

God.

Designers suck.

**-X-x-X-**

"No."

"Come on Tenten!" Ino whined, holding out a dark gray beret to Tenten. "It'll look good on you!"

"I said NO Ino, okay?" Tenten snapped and plopped down on a soft red sofa next to the three sixty degree mirror, where Sakura was gazing at herself, scrutinizing every detail. "Does this make my butt look big?"

_"Excuse me?"_ Tenten glared. "You're in a mall full of girls. None of them are going to be staring at your butt unless they're lesbians."

Sakura laughed, despite Tenten's rude remarks. "Oh come on Tenten! It's not that bad! There are plenty of guys here, they're all shopping with their girlfriends! C'mon, you get to miss training with Neji at least!"

"I don't want to miss training with him," she snarled. "I wanted to freaking go to training instead of being dragged here by the bringers of Death."

Hinata tilted her head. "I could call Neji-niisan here if you'd like…"

Tenten shook her head and leaned back. "Nah. He doesn't deserve this hell. No one does."

"BACK OFF, I GOT THE SCARF FIRST!"

"THE COLOR DOESN'T BRING OUT YOUR EYES, INO-PIG! IT'S MINE!"

Tenten twitched. Hinata, sensing what was coming, held her hands up to her ears, trying to block the next outburst.

"SHUT THE HELL UP, IT'S A FREAKING SCARF!"

**-X-x-X-**

"Ino, I honestly don't see the point of putting your feet in those shoes just to have an illusion of having longer legs," Tenten stated as Ino tried on some very pointy heels, and walked around.

"It makes me look sexier!"

"And you care why…?"

"So damnit, Neji will freaking realize he made a bad decision to completely ignore me that one time in the Forest of Death!"

Tenten stiffened. _"Excuse_ me? Do you like Neji?"

Ino glanced over, grinning. "Gotcha. No, but it pissed me off because he was the only one that didn't fall for my charm. Why're you so defensive?"

Tenten flushed and slapped herself for her stupidity. Of course Ino would notice. I mean, Yamanaka Ino, Konoha's biggest flirt, and she and Sakura were the 'Love Patrol' keeping their eyes out for new couples. "Of course not. I don't like Neji."

"I never asked. Okay, so if I get these, would I get my revenge on Neji?"

"On the contrary, no. I don't go for whores, Yamanaka," Neji interjected coolly and walked over to the two, glancing around with disgust. "This store is disgusting."

"SEE?" Tenten jumped up and pointed at Neji. "HE HAS A BRAIN."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Anyway, you two lovebirds should go shopping!"

"He's not my freaking boyfriend!"

"Did I ever say he was?" Ino taunted, sticking out her tongue. "Now, you can either watch me model more shoes, or go with Neji to do whatever you…"

The blonde never got to finish her sentence before Tenten grabbed Neji's wrist and pulled him out of the store.

**-X-x-X-**

"So Neji," Tenten started, grinning. "What brings you here?"

Neji shrugged. "Hinata-sama called, saying you were in a foul mood."

"…Did she really."

"Yes." Neji stopped and glanced up. "Let's go in."

"…."

"Tenten," Neji's lips twitched. "Are you not aware that today is Christmas?"

"…Are you serious?"

"Yes," he raised an eyebrow at her face and pulled her into the store. "As a gift, I'll buy you something."

Tenten flushed darkly. "Y-you don't have to. This store is really really expensive."

Neji leaned in, their cheeks grazed. "I want to," he whispered, sending chills down her spine.

"O-okay," Tenten breathed and turned around, walking straight into a display of scarves. "…I want a scarf."

"Really."

"Yes," Tenten pulled out a long cashmere maroon scarf, gazing at it. "…I like this one."

"Are you sure you like it, not because it's the cheapest one there is?"

"Yes," Tenten turned around, smiling. "I like this one!"

Neji chuckled and took the scarf from her slender fingers, heading over to the cash register. "Alright, the sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can go home."

"No training?" she inquired, staring at him.

"No. Unless you want to train in negative six degree weather…"

"That's okay."

**-X-x-X-**

"Thanks for the scarf Neji," Tenten pulled it out as soon as the two reached Hyuuga estates. She gazed at it for a moment, smiling peacefully. "I love it."

"You better," he muttered, not noticing as Tenten stepped closer to him, and straightened up to her full height, still a few inches shorter than him. She grinned, her cheeks brilliantly red, maybe from embarrassment of what she was going to do, or the cold weather, or both.

"Tenten…?" Neji glanced at her as he felt the scarf being draped around both of them, forcing them to be close.

Of course, he couldn't say he didn't like it.

Tenten's eyes softened. "Hey Neji, you know how we've been friends for a long time…?" she breathed, leaning in.

Neji smirked. "Yeah. What of it?"

Tenten clutched onto Neji's coat unconsciously to keep herself from falling from the pressure, Neji's arms were lazily around her waist, trying to support her. "I think… I may…"

Neji leaned in and pressed their lips together, cutting her off in mid sentence. Tenten's fingers tightened around the material almost immediately, she pressed herself against him, closing her eyes, her stomach felt like it was dropping from a hundred foot roller coaster, then went back up. Her heart pounded furiously in her chest, her brain couldn't comprehend anything except the fact that _he was kissing her_.

Neji pulled back, his eyes half lidded, and his lips smirking. "I know what you mean. But you don't have to say it until your ready," he whispered, kissing her forehead.

Tenten grinned and leaned up, her lips touched his lightly. "_I love you,_" she breathed. The words felt like silk, they slipped out of her mouth even if she didn't want them to. Her heart felt as if it would burst from emotions, she felt she might actually have the flu, and her knees felt weak.

"I know," he chuckled and held her closer to him, the scarf still around both their necks.

The next time Tenten went shopping with Ino, Sakura, and Hinata, she'd always demand to go to where she bought that scarf first.

_You know… designers aren't such bitches after all._

**Author's Notes: Edited.**


	5. Secrets

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title:**__ Secrets_

_**Genre:**__ Romance_

_**Pairings:**__ NejiTen_

_**Word count:**__ 875_

_**Summary:**__ Secrets should be kept secret. But this secret was worth telling… at the right time._

**Secrets**

_Secrets should be kept secret._

"Happy birthday Lee," Tenten grinned as she and Neji arrived at the training grounds, finding Lee and Gai already there.

"Thank you, beautiful blossom! I have now officially have 14 years of youthful life!"

Neji rolled his eyes. "Pathetic."

"Neji, be nice! Now everyone's 14!" Tenten turned around and frowned slightly. "Be happy for him, it's his birthday!"

"Hn."

"Actually Lee…"

"Yes, Gai-sensei?"

"…You must wait another three hours and forty one minutes before you have reached the youthful age of 14!"

"YES GAI-SENSEI!"

"As I said," Neji cringed. "_Pathetic._"

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Well then, if you hate seeing this so much, let's go to a restaurant! I'm hungry anyway…"

**Five miles out of range**

"Admit it Tenten. You wanted to get away from them too."

"…Fine, you're right. Again."

**-X-x-X-**

Neji glanced around the restaurant. "And you got a private room here… how?"

"The manager is a cousin of a brother of a husband of an aunt of a sister of nephew of a grandmother of a cousin of my mom, so she knows me!"

"…Whatever, I'll pretend that made sense."

Tenten made a slight 'humph' which sounded incredibly adorable to Neji. "You're such a child, Tenten."

"Hmph!"

"Hey Tenten."

"Yeah?"

"I heard a rumor about you."

"If it's a rumor it's probably not true. Did you never learn that, or is it just a girl thing…?"

"…Do you really have a crush on Uchiha…?"

"Itachi? NO!"

"No, the other one. The one that's stupider."

Tenten rolled her eyes. "_Sasuke_? It's about time you found out Neji."

_Oh God, please no, don't let this be happening…_

Tenten chuckled. "I thought he was pretty cute at the Chuunin exams, but not anymore," Tenten's face fell, "He's a stupid attention whore."

_YES!_

Neji hid his sudden happiness. "Thought so."

"But I do like someone."

"Really."

Clutching the napkin tightly.

Tenten smiled dreamily. "Actually, I think I might love him. I mean, I'm pretty good friends with him, and we trust each other a lot, or at least I trust him a lot… He's been through some really hard times but he stays strong, and I really admire him for that. He's also really hot."

"Really."

"…No, I'm not telling you!"

"…Why?"

"…Because it's my personal non-existent love life!"

"…That's why I want to know…"

"NEJI."

"Okay okay, I'm sorry…"

"…Okay, I'll give you a clue if you answer this question honestly. Don't try lying, I know you too well."

"…Okay," Neji picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of sushi, waiting for her question.

Tenten bit her lip and sucked in a huge breath. "…On a scale of one to ten, how pretty do you think I am? One is the lowest, ten is the prett-"

"Ten," he answered automatically.

"…"

"…Crap, um, I meant…"

Tenten's lips twitched. "You think I'm pretty."

"…Maybe."

"Don't deny it," she was practically glowing from happiness now. "You think I'm pretty!"

"…Fine, I do," he muttered, blushing.

Tenten squealed. "I knew it! You think I'm…"

"Tenten, you're putting your chopsticks in your drink."

"…"

"There was sushi on that too."

"DAMNIT!"

**-X-x-X-**

Neji let out a huge sigh as he continued to walk along the roads, the street lamps being the only source of light. Stupid clouds covered the moon.

"Tenten… wake up…" Neji sighed again and hoisted Tenten up so she wouldn't fall. Her head rested on his shoulder comfortably, and she was surprisingly light.

And hell she'd be surprised to know Hyuuga Neji was giving her a piggyback ride.

Kicking the door open to her house, he looked around before deciding her bedroom was definitely upstairs. Tenten made a small noise of irritation as Neji pushed the door open gently, and gently placed Tenten on the bed, so she was still sitting up and facing him.

As he let the brunette use his chest as a pillow, he glanced around her room.

Kunai.

Shuriken.

…His shuriken in a glass case.

A big poster of him.

A guillotine.

A…

Wait…

Neji's eyes snapped back to where the poster of him was and stared.

_Freaky._

Honestly, even thought he was a little freaked out by this, he was pretty happy. Why?

Well, in the lower corner it said…

_Hopefully my future husband!_

Touchdown.

"Nn… Neji…" Tenten muttered, stirring.

_Crap._

"I-I swear Tenten, I didn't mean to see that huge poster of me," he cringed at the thought of what Tenten could do to him using that shiny guillotine there.

"I love you," she muttered, smiling peacefully, blushing. "I really really love you, you stupid egoistic bastard."

_Well thanks._

But nonetheless, he put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back gently so he could face her. Her face was as peaceful as ever, a slight blush tinging her cheeks, her cherry red lips were smiling softly.

Neji moved his right hand on the sleeping girl's lower back, and his other on the back of her head. His eyes softened as he gazed at her peaceful sleeping features, and leaned in, grazing his lips against hers gently.

"I love you too," he murmured, smiling softly as Tenten's hands unconsciously clutched his shoulders gently.

_But this secret was worth telling…_

…_At the right time._

**Author's Notes: Edited**


	6. Santa's Little Helper

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title:**__ Santa's Little Helper_

_**Genre:**__ Romance, humor_

_**Pairings:**__ NejiTen_

_**Word count:**__ 821_

_**Summary:**__ Christmas really wasn't one of Neji's favorite holidays. But this year, maybe Sakura and Ino's present will change his mind._

**Santa's Little Helper**

"_What?_"

Sakura frowned. "It's Christmas Neji! It's not that bad I just…"

"_Gave my address to every damn fangirl in the village?_"

"Well, and some guys…"

"Are you _trying_ to kill me?"  
Sakura sighed and crossed her arms, and turned to the side sharply, the white pom-pon on her Santa's hat bounced around. "I gave your address to Tenten too."

"She doesn't need it. She comes over all the time."

Sakura glanced at him, her green eyes glinting. "…"

"…As in, it was raining…"

Glinting grew stronger.

"…And I didn't want her to catch a cold, so I let her sleep in my room."

"With you…?"

"…Yes."

"On the…"

"No. I slept on the floor."

Sakura pouted. "You ruined the perfect scenario!"

Neji rolled his eyes. "It's not like I'd do anything to her."

_…Without her permission, at least._

Sakura shook her head. "You know Neji, you better make your move on her fast. Otherwise Lee might sweep her off her feet."

"_Lee_?" Neji snorted and rolled his eyes, earning a slightly pissed off look from Sakura. "Believe me Haruno. Tenten had told me her list of shinobi she'd consider dating, and it only consisted of two people. And I was the first shinobi she'd date, and if I wasn't there, she'd go after Uchiha… oh. Shit."

"Oh my God!" she squealed. "She likes you and you like her too!"

"We do not."

"Of course not. You're in love!"

"We're not." _But I am._

"Whatever!" Sakura grinned and clapped her hands together. "I can't wait until Ino comes back with whatever information she got out of Tenten!"

**-X-x-X-**

"Ino…"

"Come on Tenten," the blonde pushed a red rose into the brunette's hands. "Just give it to him! It's blatantly obvious to everyone except Neji that you two are madly in love with each other! Since that stupid egoistic jerk…"

"He's not an egoistic jerk."

"See? You're defending him!" Ino cooed. "How adorable!"

"We're not in love!" _I am though._

"Fine," Ino took out a bundle of rope from apparently nowhere and glared at Tenten. "Let's start operation: Sexy Santa's Little Helper."

"…WHAT?"

**-X-x-X-**

_"IT'S CHRISTMAS!"_

"SHUT UP HANABI, IT'S ONLY ANOTHER DAMN DAY OF THE DAMN YEAR!" Neji shot upright and yelled as Hanabi pounded on his door.

"YOU HAVE A LOT OF PRESENTS!"

"TAKE THEM ALL!"

"EW NO, I HEARD SOME OF THE FANGIRLS GAVE YOU THEIR WORN CLOTHES!"

"…"

"BUT THERE'S ONE YOU'LL LIKE!" she yelled and bounded off, probably to deafen Hinata.

The Hyuuga rolled his eyes and swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, sighing. Okay, the routine. Get up, brush teeth, comb hair, change clothes, go downstairs, throw out any useless crap.

Okay. Ready… set… start!

**-X-x-X-**

Neji's silver eyes scanned the large pile of gifts from fangirls, fanboys, family, friends, and acquaintances, but he couldn't find that bubbly handwriting belonging to his teammate.

He sighed. _She didn't get a present for me after all. Stupid of me to even get my hopes up…_

He stiffened and was pulled out of his thoughts as a hand tapped his shoulder lightly. "What do you want?" he asked rudely and turned around, then proceeded to freezing and flushing.

Tenten grinned in a sheepish way. She wore an oversized Santa's hat, and it was lopsided, showing one of her trademark hair buns. She also wore red high heeled boots, reaching up to her knees, and it showed quite a lot of her thigh before the white fur trim on the dress appeared. The dress had white fur trim at the top and bottom, two thin red straps held it up like a sundress, and the red material looked velvety. Apparently Tenten didn't like this, she kept tugging at the end.

"Um… Sakura's idea," Tenten muttered with tomato-red blush, and handed him a small note.

_Dear Neji, _

_ I'm sorry I didn't deliver Tenten's present to you. Apparently Ino-pig, I mean, Yamanaka Ino ate the chocolates, so instead, I, Haruno—no, I mean Santa Claus present you none other than Tenten! Take care of her, or I will come and smack you hard._

Neji grinned and pulled the brunette close to him, his arm around her waist, their noses brushing. His eyes glanced upwards for a moment. "N-Neji?"

Neji's grin widened. "I'm doing what Santa's little helper told me to do; taking care of you," he breathed and leaned in, then paused again. He knew he was torturing her to no end, but he couldn't resist adding, "And I know you want to be treated this way."

Tenten jumped slightly as he covered her mouth with his, and his other hand grasped her upper-arm lightly, as her arms encircled his neck. Her knees shook, and trusted Neji to keep her from falling, and pressed her body against his, and tilted her head.

"…Let's not tell Ino and Sakura what they want to hear every year, Neji."

**Author's Notes: Edited.**


	7. Beauty

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title:**__ Beauty_

_**Genre:**__ Romance, tragedy_

_**Pairings:**__ NejiTen_

_**Word count:**__ 889_

_**Summary:**__ Whoever said beauty was only skin deep obviously never met Tenten._

**Beauty**

_Whoever said beauty was only skin deep…_

Tenten was beautiful.

Okay, Neji decided, that was the understatement of the year, and it was only the fourth day. It was such an understatement. Tenten was more than beautiful. She was physically very pretty, but inside she was beautiful. She shone brightly, she was caring, affectionate, gentle, she was…

The sole reason Hyuuga Neji was who he was today.

_Damn_, Neji paused. _That was so incredibly mushy_.

"NEJI, MY ETERNAL RIVAL, WHAT ARE YOU SO IN DEEP THOUGHT ABOUT? ONCE YOU TELL ME, I WILL PONDER UPON THAT VERY SUBJECT ALONG WITH YOU!"

Neji sent a glare in his direction. "I don't want you to think about Tenten."

"OH, YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT OUR BEAUTIFUL FLOWER, TENTEN-CHAN!"

"…Damnit."

"SWEARING IS NOT YOUTHFUL!"

"Shouting destroys your youth," he muttered and left a horror-stricken Lee and headed to Tenten's house. He heard Gai and Lee whisper loudly about how to gain back their destroyed youth by shouting.

Neji rolled his eyes. Idiots.

**-X-x-X-**

"WHAT PART OF STAY AWAY FROM ME, DID YOU NOT GET!" Tenten screamed and grabbed another tissue, blowing her nose. "I HAVE THE DAMN FLU, AND I DON'T WANT YOU TO FEEL AS HORRIBLE AS I DO!"

Neji sighed and walked around her kitchen. "Go back to your bedroom, I'll make you some soup."

"NEJI. I'M STILL CONTAGIOUS!"

"Contagious. Isn't that a song by Avril Lavigne?"

"How do you know that…"

"Your iPod Tenten."

"Oh…" Tenten sneezed again. "…Well fine, you can take care of me. But if you get sick, I'm taking care of you, got it?"

"Got it."

"…Actually Neji, I don't want chicken noodle soup, I want tomato soup…"

"…Fine."

**-X-x-X-**

Tenten groaned and sank down into the heaven of fluffy pillows, a warm comforter, a soft mattress, and your boyfriend feeding you.

"Neji…" Tenten closed her eyes and smiled slightly as Neji changed the towel on her forehead to a cooler one. "You're a good cook…"

"Mmhm."

Tenten sneezed again and reached over for another tissue. "I can't believe I got the flu."

"…I'm sorry I made you train with me during that huge snowstorm two years ago…"

"Neji, I don't have the flu from viruses that attacked two years ago."

"…And I'm sorry I made you train with me in that flood two days ago."

Tenten sighed. "It's okay, it's not like you had a meeting with influenza germs to attack me or anything. Anyway, give me more soup."

Neji tilted his head as he fed her a spoonful of the soup, not too hot, but not cold either, at just the right temperature to be enjoyed thoroughly.

Hyuugas really are geniuses.

"…You're really beautiful."

"Why thank you, but I must disagree, because I, Tenten, think that I, Tenten, am one of the most hideous creatures to ever walk upon the earth."

"Liar."

"Okay, I was exaggerating that time."

"I think you're beautiful," Neji replaced the bowl on the nightstand, ignoring Tenten's sudden protest, "Because you're sweet, you're caring, you always take the blame for something, you're kind, you're pretty, you'll do anything to make someone happy, and you're yourself," Neji breathed, gazing at her softly.

Tenten blushed, feeling her temperature zooming way above what a typical flu fever should be at. "N-Neji, I think I'm hallucinating."

Neji grinned and brushed his lips against the tip of her nose. "Trust me Tenten, you're not hallucinating. In fact, I think I have a fever…"

"Oh come on, just because you gave me a romantic speech, you're going to save your ego and say you have a fever? Come on Neji…"

"No seriously, I think I caught your fever."

Tenten shook her head and used her finger to tilt his head up and leaned in, pressing her lips against his briefly. "Neji, that's called blushing."

"…"

**-X-x-X-**

"You know Neji, I think you purpose got the flu just to prove me wrong," Tenten wrung out the towel and folded it neatly, placing it on his head.

"I didn't plan to get sick Tenten…"

"Sure sure. That's what they all say…"

Neji coughed as Tenten sat down on his bed next to him. "Hey Neji… disagreeing with you pisses you off, right?"

"Very."

"I still don't think I'm beautiful," Tenten frowned and propped herself up with her elbows. "But if it'll make you feel better… I'll agree with you."

Neji grinned. "See what I mean? You'll do anything to make others happy."

"…You set me up, didn't you?" Tenten frowned and flicked his forehead. "…But I love you anyway," her eyes softened and smiled as she leaned down slowly.

Her eyes were closed and Neji's were half lidded when their lips were mere millimeters apart when… the expected yet unexpected happens.

"NEJI! TENTEN! WE HAVE COME TO CHECK ON OUR PRODIGY OF OUR TEAM! …No offense, Lee or Tenten."

Tenten gave a scream of frustration and flopped back down next to Neji, screaming into a pillow and kicking her legs. "YOU TWO RETARDS JUST RUINED THE MOST ROMANTIC MOMENT OF MY LIFE."

Gai and Lee blinked in unison and looked at each other, then at Neji and Tenten. The spandex wearing clad pointed to themselves. "Us?"

Neji and Tenten rolled their eyes. "Yes."

The two taijutsu users immediately pointed to one another. "His fault."

_Obviously never met Tenten._

**Author's Notes: Edited.**


	8. Hands

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title:**__ Hands_

_**Genre:**__ Romance_

_**Pairings:**__ NejiTen_

_**Word count:**__ 780_

_**Summary:**__ But, their hands would fit together perfectly while walking home from training._

**Hands**

All ninjas are unique. They've got their own techniques, personalities, families, looks, and brains. Some specialize in seducing, some in intelligence, some in healing, some in weaponry, some in using chakra, and some just give up and turn to the evil side.

But all ninja do use their hands.

A ninja's hands has to be thin. Quick. Barely noticeable.

If the enemy notices your hand grabbing a kunai, you might miss and die.

If the enemy notices you make a slight hand sign for a technique, you might die.

If the enemy notices you making a hand signal to your team to attack or anything, it might cost your entire team the mission and maybe some lives.

A ninja's hands must be almost invisible.

Without hands, a ninja is practically useless. Can't use techniques, can't make signals, can't throw weapons, can't do anything.

Usually hands are alike. Five fingers, two of them.

But take Hyuuga Neji and Tenten for example. They're similar enough.

They're both on Team Gai, they've grown up together, they're literally like family. They're closer to each other than anyone else in the village, they understand each other well, a mystery for many since one is the enigma, Hyuuga Neji, and the other is the mysterious weapons mistress whose last name we're still not sure of.

Tenten's hands were small, nimble, and quick. If you took a closer look at them, the skin was flawless and pale, her nails were always clean and without any nail polish, and her fingers were long and slender.

But occasionally there were some cuts and bruises, mainly from handling weapons or training. When throwing any kind of weapon, one must be careful not to cut himself by accident. Tenten did pretty well, but even the perfect stumble and make mistakes sometimes.

If you held her hand, they would feel small and smooth. It was queer how smooth and moisturized her hands were when she claims she barely uses any lotion. You'd expect her hands to be dry from touching metal and polishing them all the time, but it was in fact the opposite.

In fact, her hands represented herself well. She wasn't short, but she wasn't tall either, standing a few inches shorter than Neji. But she seemed small and delicate, maybe because she was so thin, and looked like a twig, ready to snap any second.

But amazingly, she was strong and usually one of the hardest kunoichi to take down. Once she started fighting, it was a death to death match if it was with an enemy ninja, unless someone stepped in because the enemy had valuable information.

She was pretty, her skin was flawless. She was simple, she was beautiful. You could read her like a book, but she was an enigma.

She was Tenten, and everyone loved her. Everyone loved her, she loved the Hyuuga.

Hyuuga Neji. The enigma, the prodigy, the hottest bachelor in Konoha to ever have existed. Well, he was, before Tenten managed to snatch him.

He was cold, he was arrogant, cocky, conceited, high and mighty, a genius, and a romantic and caring guy somewhere in there.

Compared to Tenten, he was almost the opposite. He was tall, he was lean. On the slender side, but not scrawny, but lean. He was amazingly hot, he wasn't as easily read as Tenten, but few people could read him. But while reading Tenten was like reading a book in broad daylight, reading Neji was like reading a textbook with tiny words in a pitch black room. Almost impossible.

His hands weren't as smooth as Tenten's. They were rough, just like you would expect a guys' hands to be. They were clean, but they weren't soft or smooth. They were strong and firm.

If you ever saw his hands, you'd promptly say they were the opposite of Tenten's. They were.

While she handled steel, he handled chakra. A warm blue light would surround his hand and he would use the Jyuuken, or one of his other techniques. Tenten's weapon of choice was steel, his was chakra.

His hands didn't represent him as well as Tenten's did, but they were fairly close. Rough, dry, and strong. He was just what Tenten needed to keep her from floating away.

Hyuuga Neji and Tenten were two very different people, leading incredibly different lives, and their hands were absolutely nothing alike.

One was smooth, the other was rough. One was slender, the other was strong. One of them were happy, the other was cold. Their hands were part of whom they were, and that wasn't going to change.

But, their hands would fit together perfectly while walking home from training.

**Author's Notes: Edited.**


	9. Till Death Do Us Part

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title:**__ Till Death Do Us Part_

_**Genre:**__ Romance, tragedy_

_**Pairings:**__ NejiTen_

_**Word count:**__ 1,845_

_**Summary:**__ There really was no question harder than this. To die, or to let your love die?_

**Till Death Do Us Part**

Hyuuga Neji didn't find many things to be challenging; in fact, with his arrogant attitude, he believed he could solve any problem standing in his way.

But then again, most of his problems weren't like the one he had to face right now. It was usually where to train, what to do in missions, to fight or to flee, to go along with Tenten's absurd plan or watch her PMS; nothing like this.

_"So? What do you say?" Kisame grinned sinisterly, supporting himself with that huge bandaged sword of his._

This was _catastrophic._

He was going to murder Tsunade when he got back; if he got back.

He glanced to his right at Tenten. Shaking, eyes wide with fear, numerous cuts and bruises, her hand clutching the gushing wound; this was not the Tenten he had known for years. Her brown hair was a disarray, her chocolate eyes were brown with fear, and her entire body was shaking in fear, her breathing was labored.

_I can't let anything happen to her._

Neji turned back to the situation. The mission had been relatively easy. Deliver a scroll to Sunagakure and come back, simple, clean, easy. Unfortunately, while they had been there, Sunagakure was attacked by Akatsuki. Team Gai had managed to eliminate most of them, or scare them off. Then it had been alerted that Kisame was heading towards Konoha, so typically, they went after him.

_"L-Lee! G-Gai-sensei, wa-wake up!"_

Neji's attention reverted back to Tenten, who had crawled over to Lee and Gai, lying next to each other. It was hard to believe that moments earlier, they had been up and bouncing around, proclaiming youth. Neji sorely wished he hadn't told them to shut the hell up; who knew it was going to end up like this?

His eyes softened as Tenten's body began to shake with tears, still shaking Lee.

_"W-wake up da-damnit!"_

The two were lying next to each other, in their clad spandex suits, vests, and weights. It really wasn't a pretty sight. Blood caked their clothes, clung onto their hair, and there was still more blood gushing from the open wounds Kisame had inflicted on them. Their eyes were closed, faces peaceful, chests completely still.

Neji didn't want to accept the fact, but he knew it was true.

Lee and Gai were dead.

He knew Tenten knew they were too; she just didn't want to accept it. Not yet, anyway.

_"Oi, I'm still waiting for an answer."_

Neji clenched his fist, wincing slightly as his arm began to hurt again. This was not a good situation; it was a live or die one.

_"N-Neji…"_

Neji was a bit startled when he felt Tenten's small hands over the bloody wound, her hands began glowing green to heal it. Her eyes were still red and teary, but she was focusing on his wound.

She looked up at him, and he was shocked at how large and scared her eyes were.

_"I'm scared."_

Neji smiled slightly when she had finished healing his wound.

_"I won't let you get hurt."_

As he gazed into her eyes, he remembered exactly why she was such an important person to him.

She was his first true friend.

She was the first person he could truly confide to.

She was his first crush.

She was his first and only love.

She was, and would be, his first and only girlfriend.

The minute he set eyes on her, he was drawn to her. For one thing, her unique hairstyle. He had never seen it before, and it reminded him of a panda. And he liked pandas.

As he got to know her, he found himself falling for her. Her ever bright and optimistic personality, her 'either I win or you die' attitude at times, her pros, her cons, the way she smiled and laughed, the way she could erase everything bad and be the shining light to his darkness; he loved it all.

To be so deeply in love with someone, then to gather the courage to confess and have her return your feelings; nothing can feel better than that. Knowing she was yours, yours to hold, be with, and yours only, he loved it.

To be happily in love, then to have to decide if you should kill her or not, there's not much else that can shatter a man.

_"Oi. I'll say it again. I've already killed your youth obsessed comrades here," Kisame motioned to the bodies. "I'm feeling generous today, so I'll give you two a decision. One dies, one lives. Both can't die or live, it's simple."_

Neji clenched his teeth and glared at the Akatsuki member. There really was no question harder than this. To die, or to let your love die? It was kind of like the question 'To leave behind or to be left behind?' only in this scenario, when the person is gone, they're gone forever.

If he let himself live, he'd lose the single thing closest to him, and he could tell that he wouldn't make the death a quick and painless one. He couldn't bear the thought of her in pain because of him. It didn't matter that he'd be living with the emotional pain, what mattered to him was that _she_ was going to be in excruciating pain. She was the reason his heart beat, the reason he didn't give up on anything, she was the sole purpose for his entire existence.

He couldn't live without her.

But if he chose to kill himself, he'd be leaving her with a lifetime of sadness and remorse. She might never smile again, never laugh, never be happy. He couldn't imagine her not smiling or laughing; he loved to see her like that. She'd be depressed for the rest of her life, and it would be his fault for being so selfish and choosing the easy way out.

He didn't want her to be sad.

Neji closed his eyes in frustration, trying to block out everything, but Tenten's quiet sobs could still be heard. She never cried. She was _Tenten_ for crying out loud. She was happy, optimistic, she was the complete opposite of him.

She wasn't supposed to cry.

She wasn't supposed to be sad.

_"Shh… it's going to be okay, Tenten." Neji whispered into her ear, gently embracing her shaking shoulders._

He loved her, he really did. Everyone could see that. She loved him too, almost as much as he did. Anyone who had any kind of sense knew they were madly in love.

The way they would fight back to back, how they'd often just sit together in silence, just the simple aura emitting from there literally screamed 'we're in love.'

The soft touches of her fingertips on him, the way her voice could make his name sound amazing, her simple presence would brighten up anything.

The way he'd hold her so gently when she was in pain, how softly he'd brush his lips against hers, how she was the only one he would do anything for.

They were in love, and anyone knew it. Anyone here would agree that it wasn't fair for that decision of living or dying to fall upon this couple. They would be shocked at this. Why do these two have to choose who was going to die?

Any couple, but these two, please, Kami-sama.

_"Neji… let me die."_

Neji immediately froze and looked down at her. She was looking earnestly back up at him, he opened his mouth but she cut him off.

_"You… you have a lot to live for. You're Hyuuga Neji, you have friends, family, fan girls. The world would be devastated if you died. And I'm… nothing. I don't have a family, a background, or anything. No one would notice if I died. You have so much to live for. My purpose in life is to support you and make sure you're happy; and you can't be happy if you're dead. Please, let me die."_

Neji stared at her simply. She was nothing? She was his _world,_ she was _everything_ to him, how could she think she was _nothing_? He wanted her to be happy. He wanted her to be satisfied. He wanted the best for her.

He knew he was selfish around her sometimes, and he sorely regretted that. But she always had that smile and just shrugged it off. She was a saint.

Then it hit him.

_"Tenten, you trust everything I do right?"_

_ "Yes."_

_ "You won't question my decisions?"_

_ "No. I know everything you do has a reason, and you just want me to be happy," she leaned up and pressed their lips together, tears streaming down her face. "…Our last kiss."_

_ Neji smiled softly. "…I love you, you have to know that."_

_ "I do. You're thinking to let me die, aren't you?" Tenten smiled, her eyes teary._

In those movie films, the hero always dies for his love, because in those films, life is more important than anything. Neji thought it was selfish.

When he died, the woman was devastated. Sometimes she would go into insanity at the thought of watching her love die. Life was important, but without emotions and feelings, life was nothing.

This question was basically a question of selfishness.

Do I want to die and feel nothing, while the love of my life is by herself, depressed, sad, and going into a state of insanity?

Or do I want to kill her off, let her be peaceful and not feel anything, not be hurt, while I take all the hurt feelings and sadness?

Would you rather be dead or insane?

That was basically the question.

_"I don't want…" Neji found his eyes were tearing up as Kisame approached him, his sword raised. "I don't want… you to be sad, and me to feel nothing. I want… the best for you. I… love you. I know you don't want to die, you love life. But I don't want you to spend your life being sad because I died, because I know that's what you would do. I don't want you to be insane from a broken heart. I don't want you to feel any of that emotional pain because…" Neji's voice was cracking as Tenten's was clutching onto his shoulders tightly, tears streaming down. "I… love you," he breathed, and pressed his lips against hers for a final kiss, before the sword came down._

He did it. He killed his girlfriend. His lover. His life.

_Neji closed his eyes and smiled sickly, his hand still holding Tenten's as Kisame disappeared, and all that was left was three bodies, two cold, one still warm._

_ "…I love you."_

**Epilogue:**

"Hyuuga Neji, you say?"

"Yes."

"I'm afraid he hasn't been doing better; we can't say he's sane quite yet. He's been quite… insane ever since… you know, he chose to let Tenten die…" the nurse whispered to Hinata.

Hinata smiled warmly, still holding the bouquet of white flowers.

_I knew he would choose that if they were in that situation. He really does love her._

**Author's Notes: Edited.**


	10. Dominance

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title:**__ Dominance_

_**Genre:**__ Romance, humor_

_**Pairings:**__ NejiTen_

_**Word count:**__ 1,100_

_**Summary:**__ When two strong personalities enter a relationship… there's obviously a battle for dominance._

**Dominance**

_Mmph._

Tenten found herself pushed down onto the kitchen counter, two strong hands pinning her wrists down, holding them above her head and her legs between his.

"N-Neji? I don't want to spoil the atmosphere but…" Tenten glanced to her left quickly. "…There's a knife _right there_ so before you become a man, please move that so I won't get killed."

Neji grumbled something incoherent as he swiftly knocked the kitchen knife threatening his girlfriend's life the floor. He smirked and looked down at her.

"Any other threats?"

"Oh yes."

"Mm?" his deep baritone voice caused her to shudder as he leaned down, his lips nearing hers.

"Doctor Neji, I'm afraid your presence isn't good for me," she managed to whisper, her eyes half lidded. "Butterflies in my stomach and a racing heart _can't_ be healthy…"

"We'll just have to take care of that, won't we?" he grinned, leaning down and crashing his lips onto hers.

"Now this is way better than peeping at girls in hot springs…"

"Shut up Naruto, I need this info for my new book…"

**-X-x-X-**

"God you little… I _hate_ you."

Tenten rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless. "Sorry, I forgot your love life is at a temporary standstill."

"Not just a standstill, it's basically DEAD," Ino pulled at her golden locks in frustration. "God, if you weren't dating Neji, I'd totally go after him. Actually scratch that," Ino put her finger, leaning on the counter, giving a quick smile to a customer that wandered into the flower shop. "If you didn't EXIST, I'd totally flirt with him. Because of your existence he doesn't notice anyone except you. God, you are one lucky little bitch."

Tenten grinned, picking up an orchid. "I know, right?"

Ino sighed, then grinned, glancing up at Tenten. "…So?"

"So what?"

"You know what."

"What?"

"Who's dominant?"

Tenten raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean who's dominant?"

Ino grinned naughtily. "Who's the dominant one in the relationship? The one that makes the moves, pins the other down, teases the other…"

Tenten flushed. "I-Ino!"

"Believe me Tenten, if you love your relationship right now, you have no idea how much you're going to love it if you have Neji as your bitch."

**-X-x-X-**

"So have you slept with her yet?"

"What kind of a question is that?" Neji glared at Kiba, prying his chopsticks apart.

The Inuzuka shrugged, everyone else moving about a meter back. They had a bet and the one who lost had to ask Neji that.

"I wanted to know if I could still get her virginity."

"...Inuzuka…" Neji closed his eyes, twitching from anger. "Stay at least a hundred meters away from my girlfriend or I'll…"

"WHOA WHOA NEJI," Naruto jumped up, grabbing the Hyuuga before he could Jyuuken Kiba to Sunagakure. "HE WAS KIDDING!"

"I kid!" Kiba wailed, hiding behind Shikamaru. "Even I'm not stupid enough to mess with your girl!"

Neji growled, glaring at all of them.

"But seriously Neji," Kiba inched back to his seat, looking at the Hyuuga cautiously. "You _are_ in charge, right?"

"Of course I am."

"Good because if you weren't," Kiba gulped down his water. "You would be degrading us all."

"…"

"RUN KIBA, RUN!"

**-X-x-X-**

"That stupid Inuzuka…" Neji muttered, making his way through Tenten's apartment. He really should remind her to lock her door, because one day someone besides him might just waltz through that door and get knocked down onto a chair that had been set up perfectly with one incredibly hot girl sitting on their lap, legs on either side of his hips, her arms around his neck, lips taunting him… wait, what the hell just happened?

Neji blinked, ignoring how constricting his pants suddenly became as he stared into her never ending chocolate eyes. "…Tenten?"

"Hey baby," she whispered, moving closer to him, her lips planting soft butterfly kisses on him. "Good day?"

"…It's about to get way better," Neji grabbed her face and kissed her as if their lives depended on it. Their lips hurt and their lungs were on fire, but that didn't matter to them right now.

What mattered now was that what she had started, he was going to finish.

**-X-x-X-**

"Oh my God, you DID that?" Sakura squealed, clapping. "You go girl! Make him beg!"

Tenten laughed. "I have to admit, it was really thrilling to be in charge for once… he ended up in charge after though…"

"The one whose dominant is the one that starts everything, and gets the other riled up," the pink haired medic dug through her closet. "And that honey, was you."

"I guess but," Tenten sighed. "It was so short…"

_CRACK!_

Tenten's head snapped back to Sakura, who was holding a whip.

"I'm sure you'll find use for this."

**-X-x-X-**

"Hey Ne—" Tenten was cut off by an unwilling Neji, because really, he loved it when she was saying his name in that seductive tone, but what has to be done has to be done.

He kissed her softly, gently prying the whip out of her hands, his other arm around her waist to keep her from falling. He pulled back a bit, smirking. "I'm sure you won't be needing this," with a flick, the whip was sent out the window.

Tenten puffed her cheeks out. "Aw Neji, I was just trying to have some fun!"

"You don't need a whip for that," Neji breathed, his eyes gazing at her seductively. Tenten felt her body heat up, and allowed him to push her onto the dining table, because the bed really was overrated at this point.

Her heart was racing as he bent down, brushing his lips against her's teasingly. She erased everything Sakura and Ino had said about dominance, her thoughts were preoccupied with the man on top of her.

"You're right, _what_ was I _thinking_?"

**-X-x-X-**

Dominance.

Neji and Tenten both were naturally pretty independent people, and they were used to being on top. But being together, it was hard to tell who was on top.

Oh they were in love. Everyone could see that.

But who was the one controlling the relationship? Keeping a hold on the other? That was the real question, who was in charge?

Many would say no one, they were both equal. But we all know no two people truly are equal. Well, they are, but when I say equal, I'm meaning in a relationship, as in they both are equal, the other has no influence on them.

They both know deep down who's in charge.

They know.

So I ask you…

_Who is the dominant one?_

**Author's Notes: Edited.**


	11. Good Karma

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title:**__ Good Karma_

_**Genre:**__ Romance, humor_

_**Pairings:**__ NejiTen_

_**Word count:**__ 1,735_

_**Summary:**__ True love awakens a part of your soul which you never knew you had... In this case true love makes you break my crystal ball. Pay up Hyuuga. Can't be a fortune teller without one._

**Good Karma**

Neji stuffed his hands into his pockets, and walked around the carnival, looking extremely bored. Hanabi and Hinata had dragged him here, and as he had expected, they ditched him to go on some rides.

He sighed and paused in front of a large purple tent, which looked like a Persian rug. _…Someone actually does fortunetelling?_

He rolled his eyes and continued forward, unaware that the person inside the tent had caught sight of him.

**-X-x-X-**

The fortune teller pulled down on her face mask, covering her nose and mouth, only her hazel eyes and chocolate brown bangs showed, the rest covered by her purple velvet robe. "Shoot! Why's he here? And what was with that look? A look of disgust? God! That little…"

Tenten growled and plugged her "magic" fortune telling ball in, as she heard someone open the tent flap.

She looked up smiling. "Good afternoon, have you come here to get your fortune told?"

"Yeah well… I'm kind of… stuck right now, so I want to know if things'll get better…"

Tenten smiled beneath her mask, but apparently the person relaxed, seeing her eyes smile. "Sit down and relax…"

**-X-x-X-**

"Neji-niisan!"

The Hyuuga stopped and turned around, catching sight of Hinata and Hanabi running towards him, both very flushed in the cheeks. "We… need…"

"More money. Though so," Neji reached into his left pocket, pulling out a bunch of crumpled bills. "Is that enough?"

"Yes!" Hinata smiled broadly, "Thank you, Neji-niisan!"

"Let's go let's go, Hinata-neechan!" Hanabi tugged on her older sister's shirt, trying to pull her towards another roller coaster.

"Okay okay, see you later!" Hinata waved to their oldest cousin and let Hanabi drag her off, the two disappearing into the crowds.

Neji continued walking around absentmindedly, glancing here and there, occasionally seeing a happy couple together, and felt a pang in his chest, but brushed it off.

**-X-x-X-**

_"Neji, Nejiii!"_

_ Neji stopped to turn around, but instead felt someone grab his right arm, grinning up at him. He glanced to his right and half smiled. "Tenten."_

_ "Here! Ice cream!" she grinned, holding up a cone._

_ "…Where's yours?"_

_ "…" Simultaneously, they both looked down at the forsaken cone of chocolate ice cream, on the ground. "…On the ground!" she grinned. "I'll buy another one, here's yours!"_

_ Neji looked down, and raised an eyebrow in amusement. "…You can have it."_

_ "But but…"_

_ "Fine," he leaned down and took a small bite, then pressed his lips against hers, letting her taste the sweet vanilla. "We'll share."_

**-X-x-X- **

"…Ah whatever," Neji passed the fortune telling tent for the third time and went in, looking around at the shady surroundings. "…"

"Good afternoon," a silky, but very familiar, voice interrupted him from his thoughts, "Have you come to have your fortune told, young man?"

"Yeah," he answered, sitting down in the chair, scrutinizing the fortune teller. Something was familiar about her…

"Is there anything you'd like to know?" she asked, rubbing the glass ball, "Any specifics?"

"…I want to know…" he started slowly, "…How my ex girlfriend feels about me."

He could've sworn she froze for a second, but it was probably his imagination. "Well then…" she closed her eyes. "I can tell you're in love…"

She paused for a second, the tent was quiet until she started speaking again, her voice gentle but earnest.

"True love awakens a part of your soul which you never knew you had... you do the stupidest things, you do the smartest things, you do things you didn't know you could do, you do things you knew you could do. In this case…" Neji realized he had accidentally knocked the crystal ball to the floor, "true love makes you break my crystal ball. Pay up Hyuuga. Can't be a fortune teller without one."

"So you do know me," Neji smirked as the fortune teller jumped slightly, slapping herself for her mistake. "Tenten, I know it's you. You can stop the act."

"…You're getting married, right?" Tenten asked, pulling her mask down, her eyes kept downcast as well. "…Well then!" she mustered up a happy tone. "I guess it's a good thing we broke up then, because if we didn't then…"

"I'm going to cancel the engagement."

"…WHAT?" she screamed, her eyes shot upwards to stare at him. "But… but… won't Hiashi murder you? It was to form an alliance so Hyuuga Electronics could grow larger, and you were the only person that bitchy girl wanted to marry…"

"So you've met her?" he asked, amused.

"Yes I _did_. She got all mad when she found out I was your ex, and called security on me!"

Neji chuckled, his eyes sad though. "That's why I'm going to cancel the engagement."

"…Because she called security on me?"

"Because," he sighed, and glanced behind her. "I can't live with her. She'd control every aspect of my life, who I see, who I can talk with. She'd find an excuse to keep me in bed, wash all of my clothes so I'd have nothing to wear. I can't live with her."

"But Neji…" Tenten's eyes softened, slapping herself for trying to convince him to go through with this marriage. "…You'll get used to her eventually. I know at first you won't like it, but think of the good things. You'll inherit the company, which was always your dream wasn't it?"

"The thought of living with her makes that less desirable," he muttered, then finally looked at her. "But if I could have you, but I'd give up the company I'd do that in a heartbeat."

Tenten's eyes widened and she felt her cheeks turn a rosy pink. "N-Neji, what're you saying? We broke up, remember? You said…"

**-X-x-X-**

_"There's no point in this. We can't be together. Hiashi is going to make me get engaged sooner or later," Neji was leaning against the wall, his hands in his pockets, his bangs overshadowing his eyes, refusing to look at Tenten._

_ Tenten's eyes brimmed with tears, and she hugged the blanket around her tighter; standing there in her pajamas, breaking up with her boyfriend. "But Neji… can't we at least… try?" she asked in a small voice, keeping her head down, knowing if she looked up her last shred of dignity would be gone._

_ "There's no point," he spat, "The only way to inherit Hyuuga Electronics would be to get married before Hinata. …Sama," he added, remembering the honorific he attached to her name. "And inheriting Hyuuga Electronics has been…"_

_ "Your life long dream," she finished his sentence for him, finally looking up and walking towards him. "Neji, do you still love me?"_

_ His head jerked in her direction. "…"_

_ Tenten smiled sadly. "…So you don't."_

_ "No, I do," he straightened up, suddenly alert. He was breaking up with her, but he didn't want her to think he was an emotionless bastard; he still loved her, he loved her even _more_ because she was taking this break up so well, knowing that his dream was to inherit the company._

_ "…Maybe you do but," she glanced away, "If you choose a company over me then…" she let her sentence hanging and shook her head. "Never mind. Well… then I guess this is good bye," she looked up, smiling sadly. "…Then…"_

_ "Wait," he muttered, grabbing her shoulders and leaned in, pressing his lips against hers._

_ They had kissed before, each time seemingly better than the last. But this kiss, the last they would probably share, held a bittersweet sorrow, but enjoyable. The same electric sparks shot throughout their bodies, their minds were hazy, but knowing it was the last kiss they would share made it bittersweet._

_ Neji pulled back, his eyes softening and mentally slapped himself as he saw she had broken down crying._

_ "I-I'm sorry, I… j-just can't do th-this," she managed between sobs and wretched out of his grip, running back into her bedroom and slammed the door shut, her sobs muffled by her pillow._

_ Neji's eyes saddened as he left her house, leaving the key on the dining table, scribbling a note saying farewell and left the house._

**-X-x-X-**

"So… what brings you here?" Tenten's cheeks were still flushed, trying to evade the subject.

"…I canceled the engagement. I'm giving up Hyuuga Electronics."

Tenten fell off her chair abruptly, earning a worried glance. "…Are you okay?"

"Shit," she muttered, getting back on her chair. "But but… you just said you were going to cancel the engagement, you already did?" she sputtered, staring at him. "Hyuuga Electronics was your dream Neji! You can't just give it up!"

"…I'm giving it up for you."

Tenten felt her cheeks heat up again, it was like the first time he confessed and asked her to go out with him. "…Neji," she said slowly, "I'm not worth it. Tell Hiashi I made you do it. I know how badly you want the company."

"Do you still love me?" he asked suddenly.

"…What?"

"Do you still love me?" he asked again, gentler this time, his eyes gazing at her so softly she was melting.

Literally.

"…Yes," she muttered, "I'm still in love with you. More than ever."

"Then…" he pulled out an envelope, "Please do me one last favor."

"Anything."

"…Come to my wedding."

"…._Damnit Hyuuga Neji are you getting married or not?_"

"I am," he answered smoothly, sliding the envelope towards her, "I said that to test your reaction."

"…Oh." A sudden pang of sadness stabbed at her, and she hastily wiped away her tears. "O-okay then, I'll see you there."

Neji smiled at her then stood up. "I should be going now. Bye," he waved and disappeared from the tent, the flap creating a cool breeze for her.

Tenten let out a shaky breath, opening the envelope, and out fell a ring.

…A ring?

"A ring?" she muttered, looking at it. She looked around to make sure no one was watching, then slid it onto her ring finger on her left hand, surprised it fit perfectly. She smiled slightly, and took out the invitation glancing at it.

_Hyuuga Neji and Tenten cordially invite you to their wedding on…_

…Backtrack.

Tenten's eyes nearly popped out of her head, rereading the card over and over; but it was there. _Hyuuga Neji and __**Tenten**__._

"…HYUUGA NEJI!" she screamed, running out of her tent, catching sight of him suddenly running away, very very quickly. "YOU HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO!"

**Author's Notes: Edited.**


	12. Choose Me

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title:**__ Choose Me_

_**Genre:**__ Romance_

_**Pairings:**__ NejiTen_

_**Word count:**__ 2,173_

_**Summary:**__ "Choose me over him. I'm the one for you. Not him. Marry me. Not him."_

**Choose Me**

_"Hey uh… I… have something to tell you…" a fifteen year old Tenten called out cautiously to her companion, leaning against a tree, sipping his water._

_ "What is it?"_

_ "Neji I…" Tenten took a deep breath and gulped, playing with her fingers behind her back and shifting her weight back and forth. "I… I…"_

_ "Out with it Tenten."_

_ "I… Neji," Tenten closed her eyes and ignored her racing heartbeat, how the sun's rays were suddenly incredibly hot, and she was feeling dizzy, "I… I've fallen in love with you, Neji."_

_ It was quiet for a few moments, the only sound was the wind in the trees and the birds chirping. Tenten could feel her heart beating faster any minute; at this point she had enough adrenaline to outrun Lee._

_ "Tenten."_

_ "…Yeah?" Tenten looked up hopefully, praying, _praying,_ that this scene was like those in the movies or books, where one confesses and the other has the same feelings. But the look on his face shattered that thought._

_ "I have no intention of taking our relationship to that level. I'm sorry."_

**-X-x-X-**

_"Tenten-chan… will you marry me?"_

**-X-x-X-**

"…Are you serious?" Tenten couldn't believe she was in this predicament. In her 22 years, 17 being a kunoichi, she had never faced such a circumstance. Thank _God_ Neji wasn't here. He had told her yesterday he was going to an elder's meeting to discuss the main and branch houses. She sincerely hoped with her whole heart the branch house would be abolished, because she felt that Neji, more than anyone, deserved to be head of Hyuuga.

"Yes." Lee didn't move from his pose; on the ground with one knee and holding her hand softly. "Tenten-chan, you're one of the most wonderful people in my life. I can't live without you."

Tenten's eyes saddened, wishing that Neji was the one saying that. Seven years ago she had confessed, but had been rejected. Ever since then, she was holding onto a sliver of hope that maybe, just _maybe_ Neji would feel the same one day.

"Lee I…" Tenten closed her eyes and exhaled, leaning against the tree behind her and put a hand to her head. "I…"

"Are you still in love with Neji?"

Her eyes popped open, a blush settling on her cheeks. She and Lee knew each other for years, they weren't as close as she and Neji were, but they were as close as Sakura and Naruto were, which was pretty close. She relaxed, smiling ruefully. "You can read me like a book, Lee."

Lee grinned. "Please think it over, Tenten-chan. I will be awaiting your answer when I come back from my mission!" Lee stood up, saluting playfully and jumped off, leaving for whatever mission he had been assigned.

Tenten sighed and sat down, pulling out a kunai and began to polish it absentmindedly. She had a dream last night. It was the same dream she always had when something huge would happen the next day, the dream, rather nightmare, of him rejecting her. He was cold, but kind.

He tore her heart apart as gently as he could.

"Maybe…" Tenten closed her eyes and pulled out a scroll to train by herself, "Maybe… it's time to let go."

**-X-x-X-**

"Hi Neji," Tenten greeted the Hyuuga cheerfully and collected the rest of her weapons, "How'd the meeting go?" she watched his face carefully, hoping being his best friend for years would help her read him.

"I'm head of the Hyuuga."

Tenten dropped her kunai, her mouth agape. It wasn't about her, but knowing that Neji was finally, truly, honestly _happy_ made her incredibly happy. It was true, she knew it had to be. There was a tiny invisible smile on his face; that only happened when something _really_ good happened.

"S-seriously?" she squeaked and bounced up to him, throwing her arms around him, the startled Hyuuga stumbled back a bit. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you," he chuckled, putting his hands on her waist; not pushing her away but not pulling her towards him.

**-X-x-X-**

_"Neji-niisan!" __Hinata called just as Neji was about to leave and find Tenten, he wanted to be the first to tell her, he wanted her to be the first person outside of the Hyuuga clan to know. "Congratulations!" Hinata was genuinely happy that he finally got what he desired, or maybe the pressure was finally lifted off of her._

_ "Thank you, Hinata-sama," Neji nodded curtly. There was no need to address her with the honorific anymore, but the old habit stuck._

_ "But…" Hinata continued, "Is this all you wanted?"_

**-X-x-X-**

Neji closed his eyes, Hinata's words ringing in his head. He knew it was now or never. It didn't matter what her answer would be, it'd be stupid to hope things would still be the same after seven years, but if Tenten had taught him anything, anything at _all_ it was that there was always hope.

"Tenten, I…"

"NEJI-SAN! TENTEN-SAN!" Sakura's voice interrupted the two, Tenten let go of him immediately, knowing he didn't like to show affection in public.

"Sakura-san?" Tenten inquired, smiling, "Is something wrong? Did Sasuke get his ass whooped by Orochimaru at last?"

Tenten and Sakura never got along. Sakura, with her loyalty and love towards the Uchiha would defend him. Tenten with her mind set on the fact that Sasuke had fled Konoha, almost killing five innocent people; Neji included.

Usually Sakura would bite back with some remark, and it'd be up to Neji to assure Sakura that Tenten was loyal to Konoha, and to Tenten that those two holes through his body didn't hurt _that_ badly after he passed out.

"Lee-san! He was sent out on a mission, as you know," Sakura stopped a few feet away, panting heavily, "The enemy Sound nin… they were close to here. The numbers were huge, no matter how good Lee-san was, without someone that can use chakra he couldn't defeat them. I-I'm not sure if he'll make it but…"

It was like time froze. Tenten didn't like Lee romantically, she viewed him as a sibling. They fought at times, but he was like the brother she never had. She couldn't bear to lose him. She couldn't bear to lose him or Gai. If she had lost Neji, she would've went into hysteria. Lee or Gai she'd accept the fact eventually, but if it were Neji…

"Let's go," she felt Neji tug on her wrist, gesturing to follow the rosette, "I'm sure he'll be fine, Tenten."

**-X-x-X-**

"LEE!"

"He opened a few gates… maybe three or four. A couple of broken bones, a concussion, a bit of internal bleeding… some muscles were torn… he'll probably recover we just don't know…"

"Thank you," Neji cut the nurse off and ushered her outside, not wanting Tenten to know the possibility of their teammate never waking up. "Tenten…" timidly, he put a hand on her back and sat down in the chair next to her, watching her carefully. "He'll be okay. He survived Gaara, didn't he?"

His response was silence. "Tenten did Lee say something to you…?" Neji narrowed his eyes, watching her still.

"He… proposed to me," Tenten confessed, feeling Neji's eyes on her suddenly but averted her gaze. "I think… I'm going to say yes."

"He's not the one you're in love with." She was surprised by the sudden panic in his voice; it was something she had never heard before. Neji was always calm and collected; he never panicked, even under pressure.

"Yeah but," Tenten closed her eyes and smiled, "At least _someone's_ going to be happy. I think God sent this… Lee's proposal, as a sign that I should let go."

"Don't let go," he grabbed her arms suddenly, causing her to turn to face him. The grip he had on her arms were hurting her, she was sure there'd be bruises tomorrow. But what she was surprised at more was the fear going through his eyes, the hysteria, the panic. Her heart was beating faster and faster, the only close contact they really ever had was that fight with Kisame where he caught her, and a few times when she got injured and he carried her to the hospital. But those didn't count, they weren't romantic. Her heart did speed up every time she felt his arms around her, and this was no exception.

"N-Neji…what're you…"

"Don't let go. Don't marry Lee. He's not right for you. You don't want him. You don't _love_ him. _I'm the one you love._"

"So _what?" _she screamed, forgetting that she was supposed to be quiet in a hospital room. "Neji, I'm not going to wait for you forever! I have to move on sometime! Yes, _you_ are the one I love, the one I want, the one I want to _be_ with. But you don't feel the same way, and if you want me for some stupid reason for the Hyuuga, _forget it._ I'm not your pawn. I can make my own decisions, and I'm making one _right now._ Lee wants me," her eyes softened. "For once in my life, I'm actually _wanted._ So what if I don't love him? So what if I'll never stop loving you? You don't feel the same way, you haven't, you won't, you never will, so _what the hell am I supposed to do?_ You were always wanted by someone. Needed. Cherished. No one wants me, no one needs me, I'm just…"

"I need you," he cut her off, gazing into her eyes. "I need you… more than anyone else does. Lee wants you. I _need_ you. I can't live without you in my life, I live for you. I'm the person you love and want the most, you're the person I_ need_ the most."

"So what if you need me? I've been by your side for all these years, attending to your every single damn need! For once, think about me Neji," she was on the verge of tears at this point, "Think about what I want. What'll make happy…"

"I'm in love with you."

Tenten froze. Her mouth went dry, her stomach did flip flops, her heart skipped a beat then started racing. Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened, hardly daring to believe her ears. She had waited _seven years_ for this moment.

"…Y-you're not just saying th-that are you? Because if you are I'm going to…"

"It's genuine," he leaned forward and caught her in a surprised embrace, "I'm in love with you. I don't know when, where, how, why, all I know is that I _need_ you in my life. I don't care how much Lee will claim he wants you, no one else loves you as much as I do. No one else _needs_ you as much as I do. So please…" he pulled back just enough to gaze at her, "Choose me over him. I'm the one for you. Not him. Marry _me_. Not him."

"Neji…" Tenten closed her eyes, letting the tears fall slowly, rolling down her cheeks. She relaxed into his embrace and inhaled his familiar scent, her heart finally relaxing to a somewhat normal pace. She had waited for years for this moment and it finally came true. She wouldn't say it was like she expected…

"I love you," she whispered, clutching onto his shirt, smiling even though he couldn't see.

She heard him chuckle again; she liked the sound of it. "I know."

It was much better.

**-X-x-X-**

"Lee?" Neji walked over to him, leaving Tenten to the daycare kids, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Lee grinned brightly, adjusting his crutches, "Tsunade-sama said it'd be a while before I could go on missions, but I'm A-okay!"

"No I mean about…" Neji darted a glance at Tenten, particularly the ring on her finger glinting in the sunlight.

"I'm fine," Lee was slightly less cheerful than before, but it wasn't too noticeable. "I _have_ fallen in love with Tenten-chan a bit over the years," Lee wasn't too scared by the fact Neji was clenching his teeth, his hand glowing blue from his chakra, "But… do not worry, Neji, my eternal rival. There is no way I will ever love her as much as you do," Lee smiled brightly, "So please… take good care of her. I wish her feelings towards me were half as strong as the ones she has towards you, but I'd rather see her with the person she truly _wants_ to be with. But," Lee paused, and was uncharacteristically serious, "If I ever see her crying because of something you did, I will open all eight gates on you. Please just make sure she's happy."

Neji relaxed, smiling gently. "That I will do."

The two watched Tenten play with the toddlers for a while, until Neji broke the silence.

"Lee… what did you see in Tenten?"

"She was like a sister to me!"

"…You _retard,_" Neji was half mortified and half relieved that Lee didn't actually fall in love with Tenten, "_You don't marry a sister figure._"

"…Really?"

"Oh Lord…"

**Author's Notes: Edited.**


	13. Jealousy

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title:**__ Jealousy_

_**Genre:**__ Romance, humor_

_**Pairings:**__ NejiTen_

_**Word count:**__ 1,599_

_**Summary:**__ The best surprises are when they're completely unexpected._

**Jealousy**

Tenten was in a sticky situation.

She and Sakura; best friends were in a fight, using each other's strongest weak points. Their ex boyfriends.

Neji, after breaking up with Tenten without any good reason, out of pure anger, she found another date to the most prestigious party of the year, knowing Neji would be there. So out of pure anger and reckless behavior, she snagged, forgetting for a moment, the next hottest bachelor in the village who also had access to the party, which was her best friend's ex boyfriend, Uchiha Sasuke. Then Sakura, out of pure anger and reckless behavior, grabbed Neji and convinced him to take her to the party.

"Friggen' Hyuuga," Tenten breathed and took a sip of the fizzy champagne, glaring across the lawn to Neji, laughing, arm in arm with Sakura, the two talking to Hinata and Naruto.

Sasuke chuckled. "You know Tenten, you can just go over and talk to him."

"Aren't you mad I'm using you?"

"No," Sasuke smirked, and put his hand on her waist and pulled her closer, giving a knowing glance to the Hyuuga and Haruno couple, "I enjoy the fact my enemy is seething, and my ex girlfriend is radiating waves of jealousy."

Tenten's brown eyes glazed over and she laughed, putting her hand on his chest, smiling devilishly over at Neji. "You're right. So we can overlook each other's use of the other; can't we?" _I'm not a sad girl who's going to be sad over you forever, pretty boy. _Her look turned into a glare as he and Sakura approached them.

"Evening, Uchiha."

"Evening, Hyuuga."

The two men greeted each other; their hold on their dates tightening.

"Hello, Sasuke."

"Sakura," Sasuke's gaze drifted over to Sakura and a moment before he broke their gaze.

"Good evening, Neji," Tenten forced an easy smile at the Hyuuga, pleased with the fact he was obviously very pissed off, "I trust you know Sasuke? He's _quite _the gentleman…"

"We've been acquainted, thank you," Neji's glare on the easy smiling brunette hardened. "Uchiha, Sakura," he forced a smile that looked natural to everyone except Tenten at Sakura, "Please give us a moment."

"Of course, Neji-_kun,_" Sakura smiled and walked off, Sasuke subtley following her. The rosette seemed to know she attracted two death glares.

"What the hell are you doing with him?" Neji growled and linked arms with Tenten, walking around with her, pretending they were dates, "You don't like him at _all._"

"It's not up to you who I like and who I don't," Tenten shrugged and finished her champagne, leaving the empty glass on the tray of a waiter passing by. "Besides, what's with Sakura? Had to sink so low as to ask my best friend?"

"You don't like him. Not at _all._ I'm the one you like," Neji let go of her arm, standing under the shade of a tall willow tree, "Not him."

"It doesn't matter, does it? We're through, remember?" Tenten quickly hid the hurt and pang that suddenly arose and turned away to walk off, "Nice talking to you, Neji."

"Tch," Neji shoved his hands in his pockets, making an irritated sound, watching Tenten walk off easily. "Like I'd get jealous _that_ easily."

But to be honest, he was a bit jealous that the smile she only gave him was given that easily to his rival.

**-X-x-X-**

"Sasuke, what the freaking _hell_?" Sakura growled furiously, glaring at the Uchiha, "Using my best friend as your date? _How much lower can you get?_"

"A lot."

Sakura rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, attracting the male's eyes. "…You're showing quite a bit of cleavage today."

"Really, have you noticed? I think Neji has too…" Sakura looked up smiling coyly as the glass Sasuke was holding smashed from his sudden tight grip. Lying had always been one of her strong points.

"Oh, so now you're being a slut? Going around and flirting with every guy there is, showing off your body?"

"Oh, don't _worry_ Sasuke-kun…" she leaned up, her finger on his chin, her emerald eyes sultry. "There's plenty left for you…" she closed her eyes and brushed her lips against his, surprising him. She pulled back milliseconds later, grinning. "But I'm afraid for once, you don't get first dibs. See you."

"…" Sasuke clenched his fist, watching her leave. "That little…"

**-X-x-X-**

"Hey Sasuke. How'd it go with Sakura?" Tenten asked, pushing herself off the wall she was leaning against. She glanced at his pissed off expression, and laughed. "Not well, I take it."

"For once she's in control," Sasuke growled, darting a glance at Sakura and Neji at the other side of the room, his heart plummeting when he saw his ex's eyes light up and her bubbly laugh filled his ears. His heart felt like it was being torn apart as he saw Neji bend down and press his lips against Sakura's. He could've sworn the Hyuuga darted a glance over at them, and when he looked over at Tenten, he knew he had. The look on her face made him feel sorry for her; the pain and hurt just showed on her face.

"I just wish… I could make her feel as bad as I do," Sasuke admitted, watching them pull apart after a few seconds.

Tenten's eyes glanced over at the two, her lips curling up. "We can do that."

In the next instant, she had her arm hooked around Sasuke's neck and she pulled him down, smashing her lips against his. She could feel Neji and Sakura's eyes on them, more Neji's. She knew it was stupid to make out with someone she honestly didn't have feelings for. It meant nothing, it felt like nothing. But the satisfaction of knowing that right now Neji was probably hurting as much as she had been ever since the break up soothed her just a bit.

When she had told him he was the most important person in her life, that she'd choose him over her friends, she wasn't lying.

Tenten pulled back, and grinned as Sakura marched over, shot a dirty look at the brunette and pulled the Uchiha off. Sasuke shot her a quick smile and thankful look as the rosette pulled him into a spare room and the door slammed shut.

She knew she had hurt Sakura, but somehow it didn't hurt as much as it did when she saw Sakura and Neji together. But watching him march over and grab her into an isolated hallway and throw her against a wall gave her a satisfying feeling; that furious look on his face told her she had done her job well.

"Why did you kiss Uchiha?" Neji asked, pinning the girl to the wall, his lavender eyes boring holes into her.

"Why? We're through, aren't we?" Tenten shrugged, smiling as if his glare had no effect on her whatsoever.

"I can't believe you tried to make me jealous by making out with him," Neji rolled his eyes and ran his hand through his hair exasperatedly.

"…Did it work?" she asked hopefully, the strap on her dress "accidentally" slipping, revealing smooth skin on her shoulder, the oh-so light hintings of a hickey he had given her a few weeks ago.

"…" his eyes stayed same, remaining as cold as ever as he glanced at her, then the mark on her shoulder. "Hell yes," he grabbed her face and smashed his lips upon hers roughly as he pulled her into the spare bedroom next to them.

**-X-x-X-**

"What the hell was _that?_ You make out with my best friend?"

"You're not mad at her? She started it."

"I'm not _too_ mad at her. Damn straight I'm mad; but I know what she's going through. Her boyfriend, the first and only love of her life just dumped her for no freaking reason, and she wants to make him jealous; I understand that, so that's why I didn't just punch her perfect little teeth out! _WHY DID YOU GO ALONG WITH IT?"_

Sasuke shrugged. "Didn't think you'd mind. You had a nice time with Hyuuga." He congratulated himself for keeping any hint of venom and jealousy out of his voice, the rosette flushed up in anger.

"Neji is _nothing._ Sorry Tenten, but he's absolutely _nothing_ for me," Sakura pulled on the raven-haired Uchiha's tie, "I'll admit, he's a good kisser. But," she smiled evilly, "show how it's done right, _baby._"

Sasuke chuckled, and loosened his tie, locking the door behind him and pushed her down on the bed.

"My pleasure."

**-X-x-X-**

"You know…" Tenten sighed, curling up next to Neji, "There are other ways to make me jealous then to kill my friendship with Sakura and tear my heart apart as much as you did within the three hours we were here…"

"I know," he kissed her forehead gently, relishing the way her smooth bare skin felt against his. He hadn't felt that for ages. "But everything you did with Uchiha cancels out everything I did."

She laughed; and he was glad to hear it, "Yeah, you're right. Can you answer a question for me?"

"For you?" he smiled and pulled back to look at her, "Anything."

"Why… did you break up with me?" her eyes turned serious, and the hurt on her face was like an arrow through his heart, but he brushed it off.

"Because…" he produced a shining silver band, a diamond sparkling proudly and showed it to her, smiling as he heard her gasp, her eyes widening, "You always said you liked proposals when you least expected it."

**Author's Notes: Edited.**


	14. Go Get It

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title:**__ Go Get It_

_**Genre:**__ Romance, humor_

_**Pairings:**__ NejiTen_

_**Word count:**__ 678_

_**Summary:**__ "Neji. If you want this. You go get it." Neji hated his pride sometimes._

**Go Get It**

Neji was in a very sour mood. It wasn't because of today, rather it was because of last night.

He was sitting alone on their bed, their meaning he and his wife, Tenten, contemplating life. Why was life so cruel? Why must he be punished so? Wasn't he punished enough when he got his ass kicked by the ramen-lover then by a spider?

"Nejiiii! I'm doing the laundry; do you have anything you want me to wash?"

"Hn."

He heard Tenten sigh and heard her clamber up the stairs, then stand in the doorway, glaring at him with her hands on her hips. "Hyuuga, what's your problem?"

"What's _your_ problem?" he retaliated, glaring at her.

"Be a man."

"I'm trying to be."

"Fine. You want it so badly?" she glared back at him; his glare didn't affect her anymore. "Go out and get it. Go on. You want it? Get it yourself."

"…You go get it."

"No you."

"Neji. If you want this. _You_ go get it."

"But…"

"Neji…" Tenten's glare became very menacing to the Hyuuga, and he tried feebly to glare back at her. "If you want it, _go get it._"

"But..."

"All right then," she shrugged, turning around to walk out of their bedroom, "Doesn't matter for me then. What do you want for dinner tonight?"

"…Fine."

**-X-x-X-**

Neji had to keep fighting his blush down as he strolled through Konoha, taking his time to get to his destination. His hands in his pockets, he walked along, occasionally informing a few women he was married and no, he had no plans for divorce anytime soon.

"Neji-niisan!"

"Hinata-sama," Neji nodded politely, grateful for a reason to stall. Hinata smiled and came up to him, Hanabi and Naruto both in tow, "Taking a walk?"

"…I suppose. Uzumaki," the male Hyuuga greeted the blonde, who grinned back widely, while Hanabi looked quite pissed off.

"Hey Neji! Hanabi and I are getting along well, aren't we?"

"Daddy told me to tag along on their freaking date," Hanabi muttered, "Make sure they don't do anything stupid like have sex in the middle of the park… Hinata-neechan!" her voice turned into charming and innocent again, "I like Kiba-san better! He had a dog I could play with!"

"Well Hanabi-chan, I have something you could play with but it's for Hinata…"

"EW THAT'S SICK." Hanabi screamed, running to Neji, "Neji-niisan, save me!"

Neji chuckled, pushing Hanabi away from him slightly, smirking at Naruto. "Don't worry, Hanabi-sama. I can always report Uzumaki to Hiashi-sama for you."

"That's low Neji! That's _low_! Using your status as leader of the Hyuuga as blackmail, huh?" Naruto raised a fist, shaking it at him, "You're LOW man! And I helped change you and your destiny during the Chuunin Exams, 'member that?"

"Yes, I do, Uzumaki," Neji calmly lowered Naruto's fist, "But, you cheated with the Kyuubi's chakra. I won that match. Not you."

"I did NOT cheat! It's a gift from my dad!"

"Of course," Neji muttered, "Have fun on your… date. Hanabi-sama, you know my cell phone number, I believe?"

"Of course!" Hanabi grinned, "I'll forward pictures to Tenten-neechan too!"

At the mention of Tenten, Neji sighed. "…Right. Tenten."

"You got in a fight?" Hinata's eyes widened, "Is everything all right, Neji-niisan?"

"It's not a fight it's… it's nothing. I'll see you later," he bid farewell to the trio and went on his own way, the feeling of dread coming back to the pit of his stomach.

He sighed. _The things I do for her._

**-X-x-X-**

The pharmacy of Konoha was a small building, frequently supervised by Sakura, but thankfully, for Neji, she wasn't there today. He looked around the aisles, hoping to stall, but then figured it would do him no good, and walked up to the counter.

"Sir? What may I help you with today?" the clerk asked brightly, smiling politely at Neji.

The Hyuuga sighed, trying to fight down his blush that was arising on his pale complexion. He swore he would make Tenten pay for this; nothing should make him this nervous…

"…Condoms."

**Author's Notes: Edited.**


	15. Do You Still Love Me?

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title:**__ Do You Still Love Me?_

_**Genre:**__ Romance_

_**Pairings:**__ NejiTen_

_**Word count:**__ 2,272_

_**Summary:**__ Do you still love me? Because I still do._

**Do You Still Love Me?**

_"I… don't think we should see each other anymore."_

_ Neji leaned against the wall, hiding the sudden panic gripping at him. "…Why?"_

_ "I-I'm sorry Neji," Tenten looked away bashfully, playing with her fingers behind her back, "You're a great guy and all… and I… well, I… want to open up my options for senior year. I mean, we don't even know if we're going to the same college; you'd probably get into some elite school and I'd just stick around here… I-I just think it'd be better to break up before we get too attached to each other."_

_ "…" Neji scowled silently, looking away. They had been going out for three years, and suddenly, out of the blue, she proposes a break up. "Did you… fall for someone else?"_

_ It was silent for a moment, but she answered, her voice soft._

_ "No. I still love you."_

_ "I love you," he pushed himself off the wall and turned around to leave, "doesn't mean anything if it's not sincere."_

_ "But…" Tenten's head snapped up as he left, the door clicking shut behind him. She sank down onto her knees, covering her face with her hands, tears spilling free from her eyes. "I do mean it…"_

_ Neji leaned against her door, hearing her light sobs, and closed his eyes, his head tilted upward to greet the rain. _

**-X-x-X-**

Do you still love me?

Because I still do.

**-X-x-X-**

"Heeeey Neji," Naruto grinned, clapping his hand onto the Hyuuga's back. "How's it going? Your studies? I can treat you to ramen if you're stuck! I usually don't treat my friends because the ramen up to my standards is super expensive, but I'll make an exception for you! C'mon Neji my man! How about after school today? It's…" Naruto stopped walking when he caught sight of Tenten coming towards them, walking with Ino, Hinata, and Sakura.

Neji stopped, looking straight ahead, only acknowledging her when she stopped next to him. Naruto noticed she clutched her books tighter to her chest.

"Good morning, Neji."

"Hn."

"…I'm sorry."

"Hn."

Naruto knew if he didn't kick Neji, Ino probably would; Tenten was starting to tear up. The word of their breakup had spread quickly, mainly because Neji was involved. The story was a bit warped though, there was one going around that Neji cheated on her, another where one of them was dying so they broke up, and a few other outrageous ones, including Neji being the king of a distant planet.

There was an awkward silent; Neji was still looking straight ahead and Tenten was looking down, but in his direction.

"Hidan…" Neji started speaking again, startling all of them slightly, "Was looking for you. He asked me where you were."

"Oh… it's for an art project," she looked up to him, "Neji…"

"I don't want to hear it," he said shortly and strode off, Naruto hurrying behind him.

Tenten's hand flew up to her face, her books dropping and breaking down into sobs. The other three hurried to comfort her, soothing her, thinking of every comforting thing they could say.

But deep down, they knew the one person she really needed was Neji.

**-X-x-X-**

"Oi, Tenten."

Mentioned girl looked up, offering a shaky smile. "Hey Hidan. I heard you were looking for me."

"You okay? I heard about the break up. He must be a bastard," he sat down across from Tenten, and picked up and colored pencil, twirling it, "Is it true you have cancer?"

"…No. It's not. We broke up because…" Tenten sighed, "Well, it was mostly me. Not him."

"Did you have an affair?"

"_No._ Wow you weren't kidding when you said you were insensitive."

"No fucking shit," Hidan smirked, "What're you going to do now? Look for another boyfriend?"

"No," Tenten smiled slightly, fingering the ring Neji had given her before. "I'm off dating for a few years. Or until I know Neji found someone better than me."

"If you still love him, why'd you break up with him? Was he bad at fucking you or something?"

"NO." Tenten groaned, slapping her forehead, "It was just me. Not him. He did nothing wrong."

"So you still love him?"

"You're a nosy bastard."

"Yes I fucking am."

"HIDAN. LANGUAGE."

"Shut your shit hole, Kakuzu. It's not like- MOTHER OF FUCKING JANSHIN, DID YOU THROW A COLORED FUCKING PENCIL AT ME? ASSHOLE THAT WENT IN MY FUCKING EYE!"

Kakuzu looked over, a cold glare to the violet eyed student, clutching his eye and scowling heavily. "Language. I'll throw scissors next."

"Fucking shit head…" Hidan growled, one hand over a violet eye. "So, Tenten, since my eye has been FUCKING POKED OUT, looks like you're going to do a shitload of work."

Tenten laughed, "All right Hidan, but only this one time, okay?"

"Fine."

**-X-x-X-**

"You think he's okay?"

"He seems fine…"

"He's still upset… I can tell…"

"Dude, is he even awake?"

Students gathered around Neji's desk, peering at him worriedly. The usually stoic and quiet Hyuuga was zoning out, which worried the crap out of everyone else.

"Should we get the nurse?"

"No, let's get a psychiatrist…"

"No way, he's a Hyuuga… let's call for a limo and drive him to a hospital!"

"Don't take advantage of Hyuuga's mental state you bastard!"

"Shut up," Neji mumbled, blinking once, then resuming to spacing out, "Kakashi's about to come in."

Neji sighed as everyone scrambled to their seats, seconds before Kakashi entered the room, one hand, as usual, holding an Icha Icha Paradise book. The Hyuuga glanced out the window, seeing the art class drawing. He immediately saw Tenten, laughing. He smiled slightly.

_At least someone's happy._

**-X-x-X-**

"Neji, can we please just talk?" Tenten blurted out the second Neji opened the door to his room. School had ended an hour ago, and Neji had left before Tenten had even opened her locker.

"…"

"Please?" he saw her eyes were tearing up with tears again; he was mad at himself for making her cry.

"Fine," he stepped aside and let her in his room, then closed the door behind her. "What do you want to say, Tenten?"

"I'm sorry… about breaking up. I do still love you," she looked up at him, sitting on his bed, "I mean it Neji, I really do love you a lot still. But… the longer people stay together, the harder it is on both of them when they break up… so I wanted to break up b-before one of us di- I mean, in case we go to different colleges, because that's highly probable. I just…"

"Want to break my heart sooner."

"Neji," she looked up at him again, "I think breaking up now would be better than a year from now. I want you to find someone better than me, who will make you happier than I ever did," she stood up, shaking slightly and walked towards him, "I want you to be so happy you'll forget about me," she whispered, her hands clutching his shirt as she buried her face in his chest, her tears spilling out of her eyes. She inhaled his scent, knowing it would probably be the last time she would be this close to him. She looked up and kissed him gently, before pulling back. "I love you," she smiled shyly, "Thank you for giving me the best three years of my life."

Neji was silent as she left and reached into his shirt pocket, taking out a letter. On, in her handwriting, was scrawled 'open at the end of senior year!' He shrugged and opened his desk drawer, throwing it in.

"Might as well obey the last instructions she'll give me."

**-X-x-X-**

Tenten stretched, disliking how her gown made everything hotter. "I hate senior year. Hate it hate it hate it."

"Do you now?" Hidan walked up to her, leaning against a tree, "I have to admit, they're making a huge deal out of this… who knows, some of us have fucked up and we're not even going to a shitty college."

"Well, looks like you're not one of them," Tenten laughed, "Congrats on your art scholarship. See, I told you you were better than me."

Hidan glanced over, seeing Neji talking to Hinata. "It's graduation," Hidan smirked, offering his hand to Tenten and nodded in Neji's direction, "Ready to move on from Neji yet?"

Tenten paused then looked up, smiling and accepting his hand. "Guess so. I need to move on sometime, don't I?"

Neji glanced over, his eyes narrowing when he caught sight of Tenten and Hidan holding hands. It disturbed him; greatly. He excused himself and strode over, grabbing Tenten's other hand and pulling her away, leaving Hidan standing there, totally confused and open to be stampeded by girls.

"N-Neji! What're you doing?" Tenten scolded, managing to make him stop. "What's gotten into you?"

"…He's not right for you." Neji mumbled, looking away.

Tenten blinked, and smiled softly. "Ah. I see."

They stood together on the grass silently, hands still intertwined. After a while, someone called for a picture of the graduating class. "We should go," Tenten piped up.

"Guess so."

_ Do you still love me?_

He let her hand drop.

_ Because I still do._

**-X-x-X-**

"So yeah… when I land in America I'll call you, okay? Bye Neji!" Tenten hung up, leaving Neji staring at the phone, smiling slightly. _Weird girl._

Neji sighed, glancing at his diploma on his desk. He had one summer left before college; he wouldn't mind repeating senior year it was kind of fun to be even more menacing than usual…

_Open at the end of senior year!_

Neji's eyes widened as he grabbed the letter from inside his desk. He stared at it, then remembered that Tenten seemed a bit more emotional than usual at graduation. His heart pounding, he opened the letter and began to scan it.

_Dear Neji,_

_ Okay, here's the truth why I broke up with you. It'd be selfish to say the break up hurt me more than you, but that's what I feel. I wasn't lying when I said I broke up with you so that we wouldn't be as hurt later, but the main reason is because I have brain cancer. The doctors told me I would be able to finish high school, but right after graduation, I need to go to America as soon as possible to try to get treatment. They told me… I will probably die. I wanted to break up with you so if I do die… it's not sudden. When I said I still love you, I really do. And I know I will always love you. I hope you can find someone better than me._

_ Love, Tenten_

Neji's hands were shaking as he finished the letter, his heart pounding in his chest. He grabbed his jacket and his car keys, bursting out of his room, nearly smashing Hanabi in the head with the door.

"Watch it you ass!" she screamed after him.

"UNCLE!" Neji yelled, loud enough for the entire Hyuuga estate to hear, "BOOK ME A FLIGHT TO AMERICA; IT'S URGENT."

**-X-x-X-**

"TENTEN!"

Even Hyuuga Neji couldn't be invincible to the grogginess that occurred after a thirteen hour flight, but finding Tenten was more important than finding a bathroom to throw up in. He ran through the medical building; being a Hyuuga it didn't take much to find information on anyone on anything.

He was panting when he reached her hospital room, and slammed the door open, seeing a team of doctors crowding around her bed. His heart plummeted as he slowly walked over. He felt slightly better seeing her still alive, but the grave looks of the doctor told him otherwise.

"We'll leave you two alone."

Neji nodded, in no mood to use his English. He pulled up a chair and sat down, holding the brunette's hand, glaring at her, trying to stay calm. "Y-you moron. You should've told me something like this in person."

"I'm sorry," her voice was soft, "You read my letter, I guess," she tried to sit up but he pushed her down gently, "Stay laying down. You need to conserve your energy," he was shaking again, seeing her in this state, "I-I'll pay for everything, there has to be something someone can do…"

Tenten laughed and shook her head sadly, "Neji, it's too late. Even when I was just diagnosed just a week before the break up, the doctors told me even then it was too late. It was either leave you or die for sure after a year. Thank you for making my life amazing," Tenten realized her eyesight began to get blurry, and Neji saw that the monitor screen showing her heartbeat was showing it was beating slower. Panic gripped at him, unconsciously squeezing her hand tighter. "There's so much I wanted to say to you b-but…" she smiled at him, tears in her eyes, "I-I guess three words to sum it up would be I love you, Hyuuga Neji. Y-you can be a fr-freaking jerk… b-but I love you…"

Neji leaned down and they shared a final kiss before her heartbeat went dead, and her hand went limp. He pulled back, shaking, seeing her peaceful face. She can't be dead, she looked too peaceful. She was sleeping… she _had_ to be…

"Sir, we're going to need you to leave the room," a doctor put his hand on Neji's shoulder, "We're sorry, there's nothing we can do."

_Do you still love me?_

Neji slumped against the wall, staring into nothing. It happened too fast, she wasn't dead. _She wasn't dead._

_Because I still do._

**Author's Notes: Edited. **


	16. Intruder

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title:**__ Intruder_

_**Genre:**__ Romance, humor_

_**Pairings:**__ NejiTen_

_**Word count:**__ 1,352_

_**Summary:**__ The good thing about Tenten's situation is that many girls would kill to be in Hyuuga Neji's bedroom. The bad thing is that he could easily sue her for trespassing right now._

**Intruder**

Tenten was screwed.

No; she took that back.

She was friggen' _dead meat._

"Tenten…" Neji tried to be very patient with his sparring partner slash best friend slash female companion to ward off fangirls, "What in fu-"

"I _swear_ it wasn't my fault!" she squeaked, "I-It's Hinata's birthday; remember, r-right? So we went to the bar, don't ask me why Ino wanted to get drunk or something, and so…"

**Flashback; an hour and a half earlier**

_"Happy eighteenth birthday Hinata-chaaaan!" the three girls chorused, clinking their glasses together. The Hyuuga heiress laughed shyly, and took a small sip of her sake._

_ "So how do you want to celebrate? Get drunk? Go streaking? Find Naruto and tie him down? Gossip? Truth or dare? Ooh that could be fun…"_

_ Hinata laughed. "Let's just stay here. I don't need to do anything extravagant…"_

_ "HEY! NARUTO!" Sakura stood up suddenly causing the table to shake, "NARUTO! YOU IDIOT, COME OVER HERE!"_

_ "Sakura-chan!" a familiar voice approached and Hinata's cheeks immediately heated up, "What's up? I didn't know you liked to drink too!"_

_ "It's Hinata's birthday!" Ino grinned, and pushed poor little Hinata out of the booth, "Treat her to something nice, 'kay?"_

_ "Will do! C'mon Hinata-chan!" Naruto grinned and led Hinata off into the midst of all the other people._

_ "You sure that's okay?" Tenten muttered, finishing her sake._

_ "Yeah yeah. C'mon let's play truth or dare while we wait for them. Forehead girl!" Ino clapped the rosette on the back, "Truth or dare?"_

_ "T-truth," she coughed, and cleared her throat. "You don't do that to people who are drinking something, Ino-pig."_

_ "Tell me. Is Sasuke's ass as fine as we all thought it was?"_

_ "Damn it's _finer_ than we- HEY!" Sakura flushed when she realized she had walked into Ino's trap._

_ Tenten laughed. "Clever Ino. Let's change the question; how far did you go? Neji told me to not walk by your apartment at night anymore…"_

_ "Olala. Didn't know you had it in you… thought you were one of those abstinent ones…" Ino winked._

_ "Y-you got your answer!" Sakura flushed and turned to Tenten, "Truth or dare?"_

_ "Truth."_

_ "Chicken!"_

_ "I'll pick dare next time," Tenten waved her hand nonchalantly and smirked. _

_ Ino frowned for a moment. "Do you have a camera with you?"_

_ "…Is that my question?" Tenten raised an eyebrow and took out her cell phone, "Yeah. I have my phone."_

_ "Yeah it is. Okay my turn!"_

_ "WHAT?" Sakura screeched, causing a couple heads to turn, "YOU GIVE HER A WUSS QUESTION? INO WHAT THE-"_

_ "Hey, hey. I'm Ino. You'll know why later. Oh, and dare."_

_ "All right, I have this one," Tenten laughed, "Get Shikamaru to give you a hickey. And show it to us."_

_ "Already done," Ino swept her ponytail away from her neck, and showed it to the other two and grinned, "Nothing'll fluster me."_

_ Tenten shook her head and laughed, "I feel so innocent for once. Sakura, truth or dare?"_

_ "I'll go later. I want to see what Ino wanted you to do. Truth or dare, Tenten-chan?" Sakura smiled evilly at the brunette._

_ "Dare, like I said before," Tenten leaned back into the booth, "Try me Ino."_

_ "Tenten. I dare you…" Ino leaned forward, and rested her chin on her palm, elbow on the table, "To sneak into Hyuuga Neji's bedroom…"_

Oh.

_"Take his covers off him…"_

Fuck.

_"And take a picture of him."_

No.

**-X-x-X-**

_"I hate myself I hate myself I hate myself I hate myself," Tenten muttered as she silently opened the window to his room and entered the room, closing the window behind her. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but they adjusted fairly quickly, and she could see the sleeping figure on the bed._

_ She pulled her phone, already set on silent, and set it down quietly on the nightstand table. She then crept onto the bed slowly, freezing when he made a slightly irritated face, but it passed. _

_ Tenten took a moment to calm her racing heart and took an edge of the sheets and pulled._

Shit!_ she swore, seeing his arm clamped over part of the sheets. Thinking fast, she trailed her finger over his arm and, as she had hoped, his arm moved._

Score!_ she smiled slightly and slid the sheets down successfully. Once they were down by his feet, she looked at him and had to take a moment to thank the gods for giving her this moment._

_ She barely breathed as she got on her knees beside him, raising a shaking hand and brushed a strand of hair away from his gorgeous face. _

_ That man was smoking hot._

_ Even whilst asleep, he maintained his elegance and serious demeanor. She had to tear her eyes away from his black, silken boxers when she realized where on those boxers she was staring and flushed dark red. Her eyes trailed up to his chest, and she couldn't help but put her finger on him, her heart racing. She had always thought he trained too much, but hell, that perfectly defined six pack and the toned chest made all that excessive training seem worth it. She traced small, light circles on his chest and looked at his face. Those lips that she always dreamt of kissing, his flawless skin, perfectly arched eyebrows and pearly eyes…_

Oh. My. Shit.

_"U-uh… g-good evening, N-Neji!"_

**Present**

"A-and that's how it was! I swear Neji, I'm _not_ a fangirl or a stalker!"

"Did you have fun touching me?" he asked in his monotone voice with no hint of amusement or anything else whatsoever. Tenten didn't like his eyes staring into her. He didn't need his byakugan to see through her.

Tenten flushed again, "I-I'm _so_ sorry I-I'll n-never do that again. I swear."

"What should I do with you?" he muttered, continuing to stare at her. He stood up suddenly and sighed. "Tenten. Stand up."

Obediently, the brunette stood up and faced him; her back to the bed, and her eyes closed.

"Open your eyes."

She opened her chocolate eyes slowly and found she was staring at that chest she had been ogling at earlier. Flushing, she looked up slowly, and saw him look down on her.

"N-Neji?" she asked and took a step backwards, falling onto the bed, and couldn't help but cover her face with her hands when he crawled on top of her.

"Tenten."

She slowly removed her hands, heart beating rapidly seeing the hottest guy she had ever seen hovering inches away from her face. His alluring eyes looked half asleep still, making them even sexier. She wanted to reach up and run her fingers through his hair but that would hardly be appropriate right now…

"Tell me," he propped himself up with his elbow, causing their faces to almost be touching, "Did you secretly enjoy the dare?"

"Um…"

"Answer me, Tenten."

"…Yeah," she muttered, trying to look away, "…I did. Only a little. Don't let it feed your ginormous ego. Just because this once you caught me-"

"Caught you? Oh, so you've snuck into my room to stare at me before?"

"Can it! Just because of this one time don't let it get to your head because that stupid head is big enough! I swear I could fall from the sky and it could cushion me! Don't act cocky Hyuuga, I will-"

Tenten was cut short when he pressed his lips against hers, his hand holding down hers, which was previously waving wildly. Tenten felt electricity go through her body and felt her stomach lurch. She couldn't help but close her eyes and relax a bit. Her free hand ran through his hair and stopped at his jaw and vaguely felt his hand cupping her face. All too soon, he pulled back.

"Tenten."

"Y-yeah?"

"Get out of my room," he smirked and got off of her, watching her scramble to get off the bed and open the window.

"Tenten."

"…What?" she turned to look at him.

"Do you want one of my boxers as a souvenir?"

_Thok._ A kunai wizzed by his ear.

"Can it, Hyuuga!"

**Author's Notes: Edited.**


	17. Mistletoe

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title:**__ Mistletoe_

_**Genre:**__ Romance_

_**Pairings:**__ NejiTen_

_**Word count:**__ 1,431_

_**Summary:**__ Kissing one's crush under the mistletoe isn't as easy as it seems. Good thing Tenten's pizza had confidence boosters in it._

**Mistletoe**

"I hate orchestra…"

"Don't we all?" Ino set her flute down on Tenten's stand and motioned for the brunette to scoot over on her chair so that the blonde could take a seat as well. "Did you guys see Sakura today? Does she know about tonight's rehearsal?"

Hinata shook her head while tuning her violin. "I don't think she'll go to tonight's rehearsal… if she's not even in school today…"

"Aw crap… rehearsal tonight…" Tenten cursed under her breath and glanced around to make sure Kurenai wasn't around. Her hand slipped into the back pocket of her jeans and she took out her phone and stared at it. "Today I will get his phone number."

"Tenten, that's what you've been saying for the past two months."

"I'm hoping it'll come true one day…" Tenten laughed slightly and repocketed her phone. "Is Neji even here today?"

Hinata nodded. "He might just be a bit late."

"Speak of the devil…" Ino whispered and smirked. "Come on Hinata. We've got to go. See you Tenten!"

Tenten managed to wave normally as her heart rate sped up, feeling another presence beside her. She snuck a glance to her right and felt her heart skip a beat, seeing Neji take his seat and take out his viola, the same instrument she played.

_Say something! Say something, damnit!_ Tenten's inner voice was screaming, but the brunette couldn't help but just continue to rosin her bow and pretend he wasn't driving her crazy just by sitting next to her.

Tenten sighed as she racked her brain for a conversation starter. She wasn't even friends with Neji, and she found it incredibly hard to talk to him. She usually had no trouble talking to a guy, but like all girls, she could not talk to her crush to save her life.

_Oh! Rehearsal tonight!_

"H-hey Neji," she prodded his shoulder lightly, "What time is the rehearsal tonight?"

He glanced at her briefly, "Seven."

"Oh, okay. Thanks," she smiled and returned to staring blankly at the music in front of them. _Well, that was an epic failure._

She snuck another glance at him and saw him take out his phone and place it on the stand quietly and opened an internet browser. Tenten couldn't help but smile slightly. The guy had guts. If Kurenai found out, he'd be dead.

"Shit…"

Tenten blinked and saw Neji trying to keep all the music on the stand using one hand, looking pretty pissed. She giggled and helped him, accidentally brushing his hand in the process, sending chills through her entire body.

She sighed quietly, and made a face.

_I'll just talk to him tonight…_

**-X-x-X-**

"Oh my God."

"What?" Ino turned around and looked at Tenten, "Something wrong?"

"I forgot. It's Christmas Eve."

"…Looks like you've been thinking about Neji a bit too much, hmm?" Ino laughed when Tenten shot her a death glare as the two girls walked into the rehearsal room. "Have you talked to him anymore?"

"Not really…" Tenten sighed as Ino pulled out her phone and texted Hinata asking where she was, "I mean, I just can't think of anything to ask him… or talk to him about… and when I do, he gives me like a short answer or just a nod. And I don't want to pester him too much… Forget about dating him; I just want to be friends with him for now."

"Can't really help you there. Have you asked Hinata what kind of stuff he likes?" Ino asked, taking two Christmas cookies and offering one to Tenten. "I'm sure she'd know, considering they're cousins."

"They barely know each other though. She told me the only time she really talks to him is at those Hyuuga parties… he lives in a separate house somewhere," Tenten made a face, "People say women are confusing? Men are freaking confusing."

Ino laughed. "True that, girl. Anyway, so what are your plans to get his number?"

"…Uhh…"

"I can get it for you. If I ask around enough I'll get it…"

"Nah, I want to get it myself. That way I'll have an excuse to talk to him… But I just hope he doesn't give me the phone number to some pizza place or something… that would be sad…"

"I'd laugh."

"Gee thanks Ino. You're SUCH a great friend."

"Cheer up Tenten. You'll find a way to talk to him," Ino grinned, "If all else fails… I heard Lee is interested in you?"

"Nah. He's just pretending so Sakura will get jealous. He literally came up to me and asked for my permission to pretend to like me," Tenten smiled slightly, "I wish Neji was easy to talk to like Lee…"

"Speaking of which…" Ino glanced over Tenten's shoulder, "I think you should go sit down. Text me during rehearsal, 'kay? I'll get bored."

"Will do!" Tenten grinned and picked up her viola, heading over to her seat, where Neji was sitting down already. Upon arriving, he glanced at her and made a gesture that seemed like a wave.

Tenten smiled and sat down next to him, taking out her instrument and set the bow on the stand.

"So when do we get of here?"

She was startled by his question; mainly by the fact he was actually talking to her. "Umm. Nine? I think…"

"Great…" he muttered and set his phone on the stand again.

_Okay! Now's my chance!_

"Hey, Neji?"

"Yeah?"

Tenten pulled her phone out of her pocket, "Umm, this is a new phone… and I'm not really sure how to use it yet. Can I have your number so I can try calling someone?"

He raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Sure. Six four eight, five three nine nine, eight zero five."

Heart pounding, she entered the phone number and sure enough, his phone rang. Part of her was relieved that he didn't give her a number to the pizza place, but then she realized he was still there so of course he'd give her his real number.

"Thanks."

"Hn."

Tenten grinned and leaned back in her seat. _Mmm. Maybe orchestra isn't that bad after all._

**-X-x-X-**

Tenten was wondering if the pizza she had earlier that night had confidence boosters in it.

"Hey, Neji!"

The Hyuuga stopped walking to see Tenten run up to him, completely out of breathe. "Y-you forgot your phone on the stand…" she held up his phone.

"Oh. Thanks."

Tenten straightened up, catching sight of something above him. "…Hey Neji, look up."

"…How annoying…" Neji glanced up at the mistletoe and rolled his eyes.

_Okay! Here's my chance! Be brave Tenten! Because if I really regret this I can lock myself in my room until senior year!_

Before she lost her new found courage, Tenten grabbed the Hyuuga's collar, which surprised him greatly, and pulled him down and gently pressed her lips to his. It was only for a few seconds and when she let go of his collar, her hands were shaking badly, her cheeks a rosy pink.

"Um…" Tenten's cheeks were turning redder by the second; she could tell Neji was waiting for her to say something, "I… I… have to go," she spun around and sprinted out of the building as fast as she could, her heart bursting.

The cool air stung at her but she kept running until she was at her car and fumbled around with the keys before managing to unlock it and threw herself in. She started the engine immediately and backed out and began driving, praying to God that Neji didn't hate her now or thought she was a complete fangirl.

_Is a lifetime of being depressed worth a few seconds of bliss…?_ she thought sarcastically and groaned. She barely noticed the outside scenery as she was speeding home. Everything went by like a blur; she was focused on the end of her life right now.

As Tenten pulled into her driveway, she groaned again at her stupidity and began the process of falling into her own grave when her phone suddenly went off. She jumped and hit her head on the car ceiling, then looked at it and saw she had a new text. Expecting a picture of the kiss from Ino, she prepared herself for the worst.

When she opened the text, however, she was extremely surprised. Her eyes widened to an abnormal size and she pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming as she reread it over and over again, then promptly burst out screaming which resulted in hitting her head against the car ceiling again.

_You free tomorrow? –Neji_

**Author's Notes: Edited.**


	18. Thank You, Hanabi

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title:**__ Thank You, Hanabi_

_**Genre:**__ Romance, humor_

_**Pairings:**__ NejiTen_

_**Word count:**__ 2,461_

_**Summary:**__ Though Neji absolutely despised his annoying, intolerable, childish cousin, he had to admit, she could be quite useful at times._

**Thank You, Hanabi **

Hyuuga Hanabi. The youngest daughter of Hyuuga Hiashi and Hyuuga Hinata's younger sister. Hanabi was the favorite of Hiashi, but he was slowly beginning to accept Hinata more.

This little spawn of the devil also happened to be Hyuuga Neji's cousin. And Hyuuga Neji happened to be her babysitter. After all, who could say no to Hyuuga Hiashi? Especially if one was a Hyuuga.

But Neji was seriously considering leaving the clan to get far, far, _far_ away from that spawn of the devil. He was even considering going to Orochimaru. No. Never mind. Not that far.

"Hyuuga Neji…" Tsunade swiveled round in her chair and tapped the tips of her fingers together. "Do you have any explanation for what just happened?"

"No, Tsunade-sama."

"Under your _supervision…_" Tsunade used air quotations around the last word, "Hyuuga Hanabi has vandalized the mountain, find it hilarious to introduce one of my slugs to salt, thank God Shizune stopped the slug, distributed Kakashi's porn books to everyone in the Academy, learned the Thousand Years of Pain technique from Naruto, damn it Kakashi I am going to kill you…" Tsunade muttered under her breath, "And countless other things."

"Tsunade-sama, I deeply apologize for the behavior of my… cousin."

"I have already prepared your punishment."

"…_My_ punishment?"

Tsunade glared at him, causing the fearless Hyuuga to flinch. "And where were you while Hanabi was causing this ruckus? Flirting with some girl, correct?"

"…Not really _flirting_ persay… more like shoving her off of me…"

"Rock Lee says different."

"Rock Lee spouts crap."

"HYUUGA NEJI."

"Er, I'm sorry." Neji coughed. "What is my punishment, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade leaned forward in a chair and smirked. "Oh I think you'll like it."

Neji felt prickles all over his skin.

"Tonight, Hyuuga Neji…"

Oh God. This was going to be horrible.

"You are going to be a pizza delivery boy."

**-X-x-X-**

How degrading.

Neji instantly began twitching as he felt the stares of all the girls in the pizza shack staring at him and whispering to each other. The Hyuuga tried incredibly hard to focus on what the owner was explaining to him, but it was hard when all he heard was giggling.

"Okay? Got it?"

"Yes."

"Good good. Don't be too down about this!" the owner clapped the Hyuuga on the back, "At least Tsunade isn't making you work as a cashier! Look at those girls stare at you like a starved lion stares at an antelope."

"I'm an antelope?"

"That's the spirit, buddy!"

Neji grumbled incoherently and retreated to the back where he was hidden from the view of the customers and leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets. He figured all he would do tonight would be deliver a couple of pizzas and that was done.

Then he'd take care of that stupid brat he called his cousin.

_Ring ring…_

Neji pulled out his phone and looked at it before answering. "Uchiha."

"They're having a sleepover at Saku—Haruno's tonight."

"…Your point being?"

"Come on Hyuuga. I know you want to see Tenten in her nightgown. Ever since Lee mentioned accidentally walking in on Tenten in a skimpy one you've been blushing every time you were around her. And I can't keep Naruto the stupid pervert away from her forever."

"You don't have to use me as an excuse to spy on Haruno. Besides, I haven't seen or talked to Tenten in almost two years."

"Exactly. You want to. Badly. You want to go tonight?"

"Can't."

"Why? Hiashi?"

"I'm working as a pizza boy tonight."

"…_What?"_ on the other end of the line, Neji heard the usual stoic Uchiha start cracking up.

"Shut up chicken head. Hanabi messed up the entire town and I'm the one to blame. So I'm stuck as a pizza boy."

"…So… you deliver pizzas… right?"

"No Uchiha. I do a special pizza dance with them and then feed the pizza to the people who ordered it."

"Your sarcasm is priceless."

"So is yours." Neji was about to come back with another smart aleck reply when a new voice interjected.

"Hyuuga! You have your first order! Hurry up!"

"I'll kill you tomorrow Uchiha."

"All right. Have fun."

Neji wondered why he had an uneasy feeling as he took the two boxes of pizzas and got into the car and started it up. His bad feelings were usually accurate…

Oh well. Probably just the smell of pizza messing with his brain.

**-X-x-X-**

As Neji neared the address he was given, he felt his stomach begin to drop. He recognized it slightly but couldn't place it, so he figured it was some old lady he had to find a cat for once. Photographic memories are annoying, really.

But the closer he got, the more he realized whose house this was.

As he walked up to the door, he was formulating ways to kill Hanabi and Sasuke.

_Ding dong…_

Oh and Tsunade too. For giving him this job in the first place. But first, Hanabi. Hanabi needs to be taken care of. Starting from when she was a baby and put his hair in pigtails and humiliated him in front of the entire clan to now. He would make a list of everything she had ever done to him, including throwing a pair of his boxers to Tenten.

Oh that was embarrassing.

"Hello… Neji?"

"Hi. Your pizza." Neji thrust the two boxes into the surprised rosette's arms. "Bye."

"WAIT." Ino appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Neji by the back of his uniform. When he turned around, her smile would haunt him for days.

"Payment."

"…It's on me."

"Tip?"

"…No thanks."

"Too bad," Ino's smile widened as she pulled him inside. "First of all…" Ino frowned as she surveyed him up and down. "Hinata. Sakura. You guys know what to do."

Neji couldn't believe he was getting stripped. In less than ten seconds, his hat, hairtie, shoes, and shirt were taken off. Well, at least he still had his pants. That was a good sign.

"So Neji. Why are you a pizza boy?" Ino initiated a conversation as she dragged him up the stairs. "Need some cash?"

"Hanabi."

"…Oh. So you're getting punished in her place by being a pizza delivery boy?"

"Yes."

"Well…" Ino stopped in front of a door and grinned. "You'll be thanking Hanabi and me."

In a single movement, Ino threw open the door and shoved Neji in, then slammed the door shut and locked it from the outside, placing a chair outside for good measure.

This was it? Neji was rather pissed off that he was stripped to be thrown into a humid bathroom.

"Ino what're you… NEJI?"

Oh shit.

**-X-x-X-**

Ino has just been officially added to Neji's growing list of people to kill.

"NEJI. WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?"

"…Ino…?" Neji offered meekly, still staring at his usually bun-haired teammate. Her brown hair cascaded down her shoulders and she flushed angrily, glaring at him behind wet bangs as she clutched the towel around her.

Looks like he just interrupted her shower.

"…Okay then… Neji… turn around… and face the door… don't you _dare_ use your Byakugan."

Obediently, Neji turned around and faced the door, staring at it as if it were his new best friend. After a brief pause, he heard the rumpling of the towel falling to the floor and heard the movement of clothes.

_Damn testosterone._

"…Actually…"

Neji stiffed as he felt something warm against his back. This warm object was Tenten. He felt her entire body against him and her arms around his neck, her lips brushing against his neck, causing him to tense and his nerves to all go haywire. "…Tenten," he struggled to keep his composure, "What… are you doing?"

"Being a pizza boy must be tough…" she murmured into his ear, her breath tickling him.

"Not really this was my first delivery…"

She moved slightly and Neji stiffened. His senses were alert like when he was on an S-ranked mission but at the same time he was totally powerless… Before he realized it, she had him facing her and his back against the door. She was a few inches shorter than him, but that didn't seem to stop her from continuing to wrap him around her pinky finger. She leaned up and brushed a few strands of hair away from his forehead and he felt her finger against his forehead. During this, Neji kept staring at her. He wasn't used to seeing her with her hair down; maybe once or twice during missions when something hit her hair ties, but it was different right now. She looked almost like a completely different person with chocolate brown locks contrasting against pale skin, her rosy pink lips were slightly parted, her cheeks slightly flushed, and her eyes were sparkling. But at the same time, he still saw the tomboyish Tenten with her determination and stubbornness that he had fallen in love with over the years. He glanced down for a moment and swore in his head.

_Shit._

He didn't know if he should be thanking the Gods or cursing them right now.

_She's only in her bra and panties. Shit. Shit. Shit._

"Neji…"

Okay forget sanity.

Neji grabbed the girl by her face and roughly pressed his lips to hers, causing her to stumble back a bit from the surprise. He then turned her around and pressed her to the door, never letting his lips leave hers. When he felt her arms around his neck, his hands went down to her hips and pulled her closer to him.

"Neji wait," she suddenly put her hands on his chest and pushed him away slightly, flushing and looking down.

He felt his heart shatter and backed away. "I'm sorry, it was sudden and rash and…"

"No it's not that it's just that…" Tenten chewed on her bottom lip slightly, "I… know."

"…You know?" he felt his heart drop even more and shatter. He knew it. She knew he was hopelessly in love with her and she didn't feel the same way. "…H-how?"

"Hanabi."

Oh that bitch was going down.

"She… told me everything. Ever since we were genin. That's why… I've been avoiding you lately."

He looked away. Rejection was a possibility, and he tried to prepare himself for it. But then… why did she initiate it? He didn't _ask_ her to be literally naked and press herself against him and completely _seduce_ him…

"I don't just… want to be another one. I'm sorry Neji."

"Another one? You think this is some kind of joke?"

Tenten's eyes suddenly looked up at him and she looked almost scared at his sudden anger. "N-Neji…"

_BAM._

Tenten opened her eyes and saw his fist a couple centimeters next to her head. She was really scared now. Never, _never_ was Neji this pissed off. He would usually ignore her. He never did anything that could possibly injure her. This was crushing her. The last thing she wanted was to have him mad at her.

"You think that I just fall in love with any girl I meet? That you're just "another one?" I don't fall in love easily, Tenten. I don't even talk to people on a daily basis unless needed. You think that it's some joke that I'm in love with you? I haven't really talked to you in almost two years. Then the first time I do you're half naked and you press yourself against me and what am I supposed to do? Have you changed this much? How many other guys have you done this to then? You…"

_SLAP._

Neji stumbled back slightly from the slap to the face. His face throbbed, but it was nothing to the damage to his ego. He gingerly touched the red mark and glanced at her and felt his heart shatter again, seeing tears spilling over in her eyes. She slumped down against the door and covered her face, her chest heaving with her sobs.

"Tenten…" Neji knelt down in front of her, "Tenten. Look at me." All his anger had vanished the instant he saw the first tear. He let his temper temporarily get the better of him and she finally broke. He always told himself if he ever saw her cry he would kill the bastard. "Tenten." And he would have liked nothing more than to kill himself right then and there. "Look at me."

Slowly, the brunette looked up at him. She couldn't help it. She was madly in love with him and even if he drove a kunai through her, she'd still do whatever he told her to and listen.

"I'm sorry. It's just that…"

"Wait." She stopped him suddenly. "…Did you just say you were in love with me?"

He blinked. "…Isn't… that what Hanabi told you?"

Tenten felt a surge of joy rush through her. "You… you _do_?"

"…Yes. I've fallen for you." When Neji finally comprehended that Tenten mentioned the name Hanabi, he tensed up again. "…What did Hanabi tell you?"

"Hanabi… told me you were a total womanizer now… for the last two years you were avoiding me because you knew I… I was in love with you… and you were going around dating at least three women at once and you never came to see me because you didn't want me…"

Neji groaned and covered his face with his hand. _She's out to ruin my life. I know she is._

"Wait…" Tenten got on her knees and crawled towards him. When he looked up, he was so relieved that the tears finally stopped. "So… you…"

"I love you," he smiled softly, "More than anything. I avoided you because I was busy with missions and Hyuuga clan duties. Then I heard you were getting an arranged marriage to someone and so I just decided to stop trying to see you and hopefully I'd forget about you."

"…You're stupid. _So_ stupid," she giggled and wiped away the remaining tears before throwing herself on him and knocked him over so he was laying on the ground. "Could you really not tell that I was head over heels for you?"

He smirked since he regained his confidence. "Didn't want to get my hopes up."

She smiled and pecked him on the lips lightly. "I always dreamt that it'd end up like this… but in my dreams…"

"We were fully clothed."

Tenten grinned. "Not being fully clothed isn't such a bad though, is it?"

**-X-x-X-**

"Hey Neji-niisan! Give me a piggy back ride!"

"Sure. Give me a couple minutes."

"…Make me a sandwich!"

"Okay."

"…Let me use your shampoo!"

"Okay."

"…WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, MAN?"

"Hanabi-sama," Neji turned around and smirked, "I really do have to thank you."

"…Is that… a hickey… on your… neck…?"

**Author's Notes: Edited. **


	19. Worth Waiting For

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title:**__ Worth Waiting For_

_**Genre:**__ Romance_

_**Pairings:**__ NejiTen_

_**Word count:**__ 2,799_

_**Summary:**__ Some things in life are just worth waiting for._

**Worth Waiting For**

Tenten had heard before that if one was best friends with someone of the opposite gender, that person would undoubtedly fall in love with his or her best friend eventually. And Tenten decided that person was absolutely right.

She had confessed to Neji three years ago. She could still recall that moment clearly. What the weather was like, what she was wearing, her racing heartbeat, his pained voice… It was during the annual festival and she had dragged him to the lake, under the pretense that she wanted to look at the moon's reflection in the water.

**Flashback to three years ago**

_"Ah… um, Neji…" Tenten began awkwardly, still facing the lake. Her kimono felt a bit too warm suddenly, the only thing cooling her down was the gentle breeze of the night. "I… have something… to say to you and… please promise me… we'll still be at least friends, okay?"_

_ Neji raised an eyebrow. "All right. Is it because… you have growing feelings towards me?"_

He figured it out._ Tenten almost laughed; she had expected it. "You're… so amazing. I can't even put it into words. I've idolized you for so long because you're so strong and cool and confident in any situation; you always have it all together and you never panic. I love being your teammate," she turned around and looked at him, "Because I know no matter what you'll save me, somehow. If I'm with you I never have to worry; you're the only person that can make me feel so safe and secure. You're so kind to me and you never get frustrated with me even when I'm making you mess up your techniques because I mess up my own. You always help me get better; you're so nice to me sometimes it hurts," she paused for a moment, glanced down then looked him straight in eye, feeling a blush arise, "I… I've fallen in love with you, Hyuuga Neji."_

_ Silence ensued. Tenten couldn't look him in the eye anymore, she was too nervous. Her breathing felt ragged and even before he spoke, her eyes filled with tears._

_ "Tenten," his voice sounded pained, "I'm sorry. I have no intentions of taking our relationship to that level." _

_ She heard him start to approach her but immediately she stepped back, "Don't. Please don't," she wiped away a few of her tears with her kimono sleeve, "Don't… come near me, Neji. It's okay. Honestly. I didn't expect or even hope you'd feel the same way. I'm just happy to be your friend," the last part sounded fake even to herself and she sat down on a large boulder behind her, covering her face with her hands. "Neji… please leave. I want to be alone."_

_ "I'm sorry," she could tell he was debating if he should leave her alone or try to comfort her, but decided against it and left. "Believe me Tenten," she heard him stop walking and turn around briefly, "…If I could change how I felt about you, I would do it in a heartbeat."_

**End flashback**

_But life sucks._ Tenten sighed as she slipped into a traditional Chinese-style tank top and beige pants. She had plans to meet with Neji today, as usual. It was like this for the past three years. He didn't push her away but he didn't accept her either.

Did it hurt? It hurt like hell. To be _so_ close to him but yet so far away. When they went to festivals together, it pained her to see the other couples holding hands and being together and she had to pretend she was perfectly fine with just being his friend. It even hurt when they were just together. But the feeling that she got when she was with him was so exhilarating that it cancelled out the pain temporarily. She loved to spend time with him even if they were just sitting next to each other. She'd always be there for him and train with him in horrible weather conditions.

_After all, that's what being in love is about, right? Always being there for that person and supporting him and trying my damn hardest to make sure he's happy._

**-X-x-X-**

Neji would never admit that he thought Tenten was adorable. He would never admit that he wanted to hold her forever and not let go. He would never admit she was the last thing on his mind and the first thing he thought of when he woke up. He also wouldn't admit that the moment she confessed to him was something he'd remember forever.

Even though at that time he really didn't have those kinds of feelings for her, he couldn't help but fall in love with her as time passed. Whenever they were together, he wondered if he was hurting her by not telling her how he felt. He wondered what was worse: thinking the other didn't love you or knowing the other did but not being able to be together anyway?

The male Hyuuga was usually completely in control of himself. He felt that if he tried hard enough, he could stop loving her. And he tried. He _really_ did. But he knew he couldn't because part of the reason was that he wanted to see her face when he told her and just… be with her. But he thought that it was impossible. At the age of nineteen, Neji knew Hiashi was looking for a suitable wife for him. Whenever Hiashi mentioned it, Neji skillfully managed to avoid talking about it. Hinata seemed to know about his feelings for Tenten and so Hinata would sometimes help him get out of the subject.

What was worse?

Being together with the person you love temporarily then ending the relationship abruptly because one has an arranged marriage? Was it horrible that he knew he would have an arranged marriage but still got her hopes up?

Or was it more painful to know that both parties were in love with each other but had to pretend they weren't?

Would it really be worth risking it?

He hated to see her cry. The last time he really saw her break down was that night she confessed to him. She'd tear up occasionally but wipe her tears away and go back to being bubbly and happy. Hinata urged him to tell her how he felt, though. The white eyed Hyuuga heiress never said it aloud, but Neji could tell by her desperate pleads that the weapons mistress was still heartbroken and would lose it in front of her friends once in a while.

"Neji, you slowpoke! Hurry up!"

How can she pretend to be so happy when seeing him was probably ripping her up on the inside?

He smirked. "You're early, for once."

Tenten grinned. "What can I say? I love…" she stopped suddenly and didn't notice that Neji's ears perked up. "…ramen…" she finished lamely. She looked down and blinked a few times then looked up, beaming and smiling.

_How in the world does she manage with this every day?_ Neji mused. He knew she had teared up and he wanted to just grab her and embrace her. He wanted to tell her and assure her that she would never have to shed another tear again. _Isn't it so painful to hold yourself back when you're with the person you're in love with?_

"Neji! Let's go! I'm starving!"

He had this sudden urge to kiss her. Immediately, he grabbed her wrist and spun her around forcing her to crash into him. His other hand brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear and he leaned in. He could see the surprise and shock on her face, but her blush was even more obvious. He could feel her shaking and stopped suddenly.

"I…" he pushed her away gently, "I… have business… to attend to," he muttered and vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving the brunette standing there, confused about what just happened. She brushed her lips gently and closed her eyes, counting backwards from ten, pretending the pain could vanish with her tears.

**-X-x-X-**

Neji collapsed onto his bed, covering his eyes. He wanted to kiss her_ so_ badly it couldn't even be described. Something stopped him though; he wasn't even sure what it was.

But he definitely had to make it up for her. He had just left her standing there. Furthermore, he promised to treat her to ramen and he didn't. He rolled over on his bed and picked up the phone, dialing the number he had memorized like the thousands of scrolls on techniques he had memorized.

"Hello?"

"Tenten."

"Oh, hi Neji! Are you okay? Did you feel sick? Do you need medicine?"

"I'm fine. I'm sorry about rushing off earlier and…"

"Oh it's fine!" he heard a relieved sigh. "I thought you didn't feel well or something… I'm glad you're okay though."

"To make up for it, would you like to dine at the Hyuuga compound tonight?"

He heard her pause on the other end, and knew she was speechless. It was extremely unheard of that someone outside the Hyuuga clan would dine with them. "W-w-won't Hiashi…"

"He'll be fine with it."

"Then… I'd love to tonight."

He smiled, relieved that she was willing to come and he had a chance to make it up to her. "I look forward to your company tonight. I'll pick you up around six."

"See you then, Neji!"

"Hn."

_I love you._

**-X-x-X-**

"Wait…"

Neji stopped just in front of the Hyuuga compound and looked at Tenten. "Is something the matter?"

"Are you _sure_ this is okay? I heard that the last time someone tried to bring someone outside the family to dinner, that person got kicked out of the family…"

"It'll be fine. I told Hiashi I was bringing a guest outside the family and he seemed fine with it. And you don't need to feel uneasy," he added, smirking slightly, "Hinata'll be there. I'll be there with you too. So…" he offered his arm to her. "Shall we?"

She blinked and smiled, blushing slightly as she took his arm. "Let's."

**-X-x-X-**

Tenten was not looking forward to her dinner of instant ramen and onigiri.

She had never had a dinner this amazing. Fresh seafood, any type of sushi she had ever imagined, salads, all kinds of dishes… She wished she could live here.

She sat between Hinata and Neji and even though she conversed mainly with Hinata throughout the evening, her attention was focused on Neji, especially when he accidentally brushed his hand against hers while reaching for something.

_Ding ding ding._ Everyone's head turned to focus on Hiashi, as he set down the glass in his hand. "Tonight," Hiashi looked around, his gaze resting on Neji, "Is a special occasion. I would like to announce the future wife of my nephew, Hyuuga Neji."

Neji heard chopsticks clatter onto a plate amidst the clapping. His gaze immediately snapped to Tenten, right beside him. "I'm so sorry," he sputtered, "I didn't know that…"

"I-It's all right Neji. Wasn't your choice. Didn't know. Not your fault," Tenten felt the tears spring to her eyes and stood up, running out of the room.

"Neji?"

Mentioned Hyuuga returned his attention to the table, just in time to see a very pretty female being brought to the table. She was gorgeous no doubt, even Neji could admit that. She had white porcelain skin, a slender figure, sleek black locks of hair that could rival his own and perfectly almond shaped eyes. If anyone compared this female with Tenten, they would say this female was more beautiful, hands down. But through Neji's eyes, all he saw were the differences from Tenten; Tenten's skin was tanner from the constant exposure to sun, her body not as slender but much more toned from the training, her eyes not as perfectly shaped but with a happier twinkle in them all the time.

He realized he had to choose between the Hyuuga and Tenten. The safe choice would be to just listen to Hiashi. He would lead the clan, he would secure his spot, he would get what he had wanted for so long. But giving up Tenten meant giving up a part of his life and causing her even _more_ pain; something he couldn't bear to do.

"I apologize but," Neji stood up, making up his mind, "I have something urgent to attend to."

**-X-x-X-**

Tenten felt the rain come down. _Perfect,_ she spat in her mind, _Wonderful. Spectacular. Fantastic. Flawless. What a great end to a great day._

She sat down on a bench, letting her tears mix in with the rain. Neji had honestly seemed surprised, there had been a small part of her that thought that this was his way of dumping her for good. But the surprised look on his face destroyed it; she knew his intentions for bringing her to dinner were only good. She should be happy. She was. He'd be happy. How long had he wanted to lead the Hyuuga? Ever since she met him.

_This is the end,_ she thought, feeling her heart break. She had this tiny sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe, she could get him to fall for her like he had, only without even trying to. She had been optimistic all this time, with that goal fixated in her mind. _Of course, it doesn't work out. Why would it? He's a Hyuuga, for Christ's sake. I don't even know my surname! What a joke._

She covered her face with her hands, tears flowing freely. _Goodbye, Neji. Thank you for… the most amazing time of my life._

"Moron."

Her head jerked up; was that Neji's voice? Surely enough, it was. He was looking at her with a gaze that basically said 'you're such an idiot.' He was soaking wet and shrugged off his jacket, draping it over her shoulders. "You're going to get a fever for overusing your head and being out in the rain."

"Wh… what are you doing here?" she whispered, "Shouldn't you be with your f-fian…"

"Don't say it. She's not my betrothed," Neji sighed, "She's pretty, I'll admit. But," he took her hand gently, "She's nothing compared to you."

Tenten felt her heart skip a beat. It felt amazing to have him holding her hand, but what he said initiated the fluttering of butterflies in her stomach. "…Don't say those kind of things Neji, one day I might actually believe it…"

"I mean it," he interrupted, "Maybe you're not perfect. But you're yourself and you're honest. Whenever you tell me I'm so great at something, it's because you've helped me. I do my best on missions and stay calm because I want you to feel safe. You help me perfect my techniques. I protect you because I don't want you to get hurt. Everything I do is for you," he smiled at her, "I… won't say it. But… I do."

"I… I can be with you?" he looked at her slightly surprised at her reaction. Her eyes were wide and her ears hardly daring to believe it, "You… don't mind if I'm with you? I… can stay with you?"

"I want you," he pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her, "In my life forever." He felt her trembling and pulled back slightly, using his finger to tilt her chin up and smiled with an amused expression at her. "Why are you crying?"

"H-happy…" she sniffled, then laughed, "I-I never imagined you'd actually…"

"I'm not _that_ heartless," he whispered before he leaned in and captured her lips with his. He had to admit, he wasn't expecting too much from the lip to lip contact; but the minute he felt her soft lips on his, electricity zapped through him. It was like time stopped and they were the only two left in the world. He couldn't hear the rain or feel the cold, all he could comprehend was the female in his arms. She felt so _small_ and he wanted to protect her by any means. Vaguely he felt her hands clutch his shirt as she pushed harder against him, whether it was because she was cold or because she wanted to get closer he had no idea, but he liked it. He never wanted this feeling to end, he realized all the pain and the urges he had to suppress leading up to this single, perfect, flawless moment had paid off.

"Hn," he smirked when she pulled back, her cheeks a rosy shade of pink, her eyes still looking dazed. "I could get used to that."

She laughed and threw herself on him, burying her face in his shirt. "I guess some things in life are really worth waiting for."

**Author's Note: Edited.**


	20. The Glare

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title:**__ The Glare_

_**Genre:**__ Romance, humor_

_**Pairings:**__ NejiTen_

_**Word count:**__ 2,525_

_**Summary:**__ Tenten's locked up in her room, afraid of the world. Guess whose fault it is?_

**The Glare**

"I'm _sorry_ Tenten. Can you come out now?" Neji called exasperatedly, leaning against the girl's door. He had been informed by several sources, some of them being terrifying, that Tenten had locked herself in her room for two weeks now, and counting.

"No! You're still mad at me!" he heard her wail from the other side of the door. He pretended to cough as to cover up his sudden desire to laugh; two weeks ago, they had gone out on a date. However, Neji was unusually quiet; he didn't even smile or laugh at her lame attempts at jokes, which he usually found very amusing.

_"So I read this online, and figured you might find it funny," Tenten piped up as she walked along Neji through the park, "Math puns are the first sine of madness. Get it? Sine? Sign? Homonyms? Sine graph?"_

_ She stared at him expectantly, hoping for at least an acknowledging attempt at a smile or even an expression of disbelief, but he continued to look forward, seeming to completely ignore her existence. Tenten frowned as they fell into silence again; was he in a bad mood? Did she do something? Did he not like the lunch she had made for him a couple of days ago? _

_ This girlfriend business was tricky. Not only was Neji Tenten's first boyfriend, he also happened to be one of the hottest bachelors in Konoha before they had started dating. Now not only did she have to please the Hyuugas, keep Ino and Sakura off her back, but she also had to watch out for his crazy fangirls. _

_ Of course, it was all worth it. Dating the first love of her life was worth all the scaring off she had to do; it was even worth the scaring she had to endure from him. He wasn't angry often, but when he was it was terrifying. To top it all off, she wouldn't even realize he was mad until it was too late. Either he'd break something and walk off or glare and walk off. Either way, when he walked off, it was bad._

_ "Neji…" she stopped walking and he did as well, though still not looking at her, "…Is everything okay?"_

_ Scenarios ran through her head. Was Hinata sick? Was Hiashi sick? Did someone die? Was it Lee? Maybe someone was seriously ill and he couldn't bear to tell her… Or maybe he didn't like her anymore? The thought sent chills down her spine. Did he realize that she wasn't good enough for him? Or that she had absolutely nothing to offer him while he could give her anything she wanted?_

_ "…"_

_ "…? God, Neji! Say something!"_

_ And that's when he snapped. Slowly, he turned towards her, his silver eyes looking murderous. This was the ultimate Hyuuga glare. There were, of course, different levels. The first level was the look, where the Hyuuga would not look for more than three seconds but that was the glare that sent people running away. It was the "you are a moron" look. The second level was more intense. The Hyuuga would focus his glare on the person; not only would it convey "you are a moron" it also conveyed "I am very angry at you right now." Of course, during both these levels, the Hyuuga would not say anything. Just glare. This look had the power to send people and have them locked in their rooms for a while, fearful to see another pair of silver eyes for up to a month._

_ And this, was the third level. Similar to the level two glare, the eyes were focused on its target. However, unlike the other two levels, at this point the glarer was very, very angry and this was able to probably glare a hole through the target if both parties didn't move. This, apparently, also scared Tsunade once, when she was talking to Hiashi about a new regulation in the village to have all the men have their hair shorter than a certain length. Obviously, this regulation did not pass._

_ Tenten had no idea what she did to deserve this glare. As she stepped backwards, honestly afraid of Neji right now, she hit a tree, heart racing as he walked closer and closer to her._

_ "Leave. Me. Alone." He snarled and then walked off, leaving her against a tree, scarred for life. _

And here she was now. Locked in her room, with Neji sighing impatiently outside. After that incident, she went to Ino's and freaked out while devouring three gallons of ice cream. All she remembered was asking what she had done wrong, if someone circulated some kind of rumor about her, and if they thought that Neji had just dumped her or not.

The three girls really couldn't do anything; even Hinata had no idea what was wrong with Neji. But then again, very few people knew what was wrong with Neji. All she could offer as advice to Tenten was to stay away from Neji and let him calm down. She assured Tenten that she had done nothing wrong.

_"Tenten, I'm sure you did nothing wrong," Hinata said softly, smiling gently at Tenten, "Neji-niisan has a rather short temper. He's just usually good at hiding it. I'm not sure what happened, but I highly doubt it had anything to do with you. If it did, he wouldn't have gone out with you today. He's probably cooling off somewhere and will come to apologize."_

_ "Yeah! Sasuke told me that sometimes when the guys all hung out Neji would get mad and just seethe in a corner. It usually isn't anyone's fault; after a couple of hours he just calms down." Sakura nodded vigorously, handing Tenten another tub of ice cream as she finished the one she was just working on._

_ "Hey guys… do you think Neji PMSes?" Ino brought up, looking around with wide eyes._

_ Sakura and Hinata stared at the blonde. "…No. We're pretty certain he doesn't."_

_ "Tenten… are you okay?" Sakura put her hand on top of Tenten's, who wasn't eating but staring at the ice cream. "What's the matter?"_

_ "This… is Neji's… favorite… flavor…"_

_ "Oh God."_

Outside the door, Neji groaned and slid down, his back against the door. Really, he didn't meant to take it out on Tenten. He should've known better; of everyone he knew, he cared the most when she was sad. And he should've known that he would've sent her running and locking herself in her room if he exposed her to the deathly glare.

He frowned for a moment. He cared the most when she was sad? He smiled slightly; he did indeed care the most about her. Although logic told him that people generally forgive him for glaring at them, he threw all logic out the window when it came to Tenten. He worried that one day he might just glare at her for a second too long and she'd never want to speak to him again. Irrational fear, of course. Logic says that if anything she would be the one asking for forgiveness. His feelings, however, told him that he didn't want to be the one responsible for her crying.

But then again, everything became messed up when it came to Tenten. He remembered asking her out and confessing how he felt; once again, logic assured him that everything would be fine. Why else would she always help him, be with him, and spend time with him even when he was being a prick if she didn't like him back? Feelings, however, warned him that nothing was definite; she could easily break his heart.

_ "Neji! Hi! Sorry I'm late!" a breathless Tenten came running into the forest clearing where the two usually trained together. She had gotten his message to meet him here an hour ago; assuming that he wanted to train, he showed up in a tank top and shorts. However, seeing him in a t-shirt and jeans, it became evident that he didn't want to train and she felt underdressed and desperately wished she could go home and change._

_ Neji looked up and felt something odd happen to his heart; like it had just skipped a beat or something. "Tenten," he tried, but found his throat was dry. Was this what being nervous felt like? "…Tenten."_

_ "…Yes?" she tilted her head, as she watched him fidget. Neji, fidgeting? This could either be very good or very bad._

_ "As… people mature through their years, especially through their adolescene…" Neji never had such a difficult time choosing words to say, "Other things… may develop as well."_

_ "…Are you trying to teach me about puberty or something?"_

_ "Nonphysical things. Like feelings."_

Oh my God._ Tenten's eyes widened. Immediately, she felt the color rise to her cheeks and she became too shy to look at him. _Oh my God. He knows. God, I hate crushing on a genius. They can always tell when you like them. Crap.

_ "We have been friends for a long time. Ever since we were genin," he paused again, "It's been more than six years. Original feelings of friendship have deepened and…"_

_ "Okay, okay, okay. I know you really don't like all your fangirls," Neji looked up, surprised that Tenten had interrupted. Judging by her flushed expression, he realized she probably hadn't been listening. "Like, you despise them and think they're annoying and all. And I know that you think feelings are stupid and so are relationships because all they do is mess with anything and I am really sorry but I really can't help how I feel. But I promise, this won't get in the way of our friendship. Everything will still be normal, I won't be distracted by how much I like you or anything and…"_

_ "…You like me?"_

_ "…Aren't we talking about how my feelings are irrational and stupid…?" she stopped rambling and looked up at him. "…Isn't that why you called me here? Because you figured it out?"_

_ Neji blinked and then chuckled, to her surprise. As usual, logic won over feelings; he had nothing to be worried about. "Come here."_

_ Slightly skeptical and humiliated, Tenten walked towards him timidly, letting out a squeak of surprise when he grabbed her, one arm around the waist and one hand cupping the back of her head. She fell against him, their faces a few centimeters apart. "I don't want you to change how you feel about me." He murmured in a low voice and leaned in, brushing his lips over hers. He lingered just for a moment before pulling back, watching how her eyes fluttered open._

_ "Neji…" she was at a loss for words, which was odd because she was never at a loss for words. If anything, Neji would beg her to stop talking at night during missions when he was trying to sleep. And what happened to her confidence? She was like a meek school girl? No way Hyuuga Neji could do that to her. She wouldn't let it. _

_ She smirked suddenly. "That's not how you kiss." And with that, she grabbed him and pulled him downwards, crashing his lips onto hers. _

Neji opened his eyes; awakening from his trip down memory lane. Just as Tenten refused to compromise her boyish attitude and her confidence just because she was his girlfriend. And just because he was a boyfriend and was supposed to listen to her needs, that doesn't mean he was going to stop being selfish and give up what he wanted.

"Tenten. Open this door. Now."

"No!"

But God, this was difficult.

**-X-x-X-**

Tenten hugged her pillow to her chest, staring at the door, knowing that just beyond it was Neji. While the thought made her heart ache to see him, it also made her shrink away in fear. She always knew Neji was a good actor; maybe he was pretending to be nice but was actually going to glare at her some more.

She sighed. She never thought she'd be afraid of a glare. But to be fair, almost everyone was terrified of the Hyuuga glare.

Tenten knew she had to go out and face him eventually. So she might as well get it over with now. But she wanted to put it off, just in case it was something bad. But at the same time, she hadn't seen him in two weeks… actually, she hadn't seen anyone in two weeks. Standing up, she decided to confront her fears. If he wanted to break up, okay they'll break up. She'll take it as a mature person.

Trembling as she opened the door, she tried her best to be mature. "Hello Neji-"

Having him grab her and slam her against a wall and kiss her was definitely not what she was expecting, however. Her entire strategy to remain calm, cool, and collected was completely gone; Neji always had a way of making her lose control. When he pulled back, her eyes fluttered open. "…So… not mad anymore?"

He chuckled lightly. "Slightly annoyed it took this long for you to open the door."

"You know Neji, if I Hyuuga-glared you, you'd take a while to come out of the safe confinements of your room," she smiled slightly, "…So… no break up?"

"…You thought I wanted to break up?" he raised an eyebrow and kissed her forehead lightly. "I'd never want to break up with you."

"Oh thank God," he was surprised when he felt her bury her face in his shirt, throwing her arms around his neck, "I thought I did something wrong that day that made you mad… like maybe the lunch I made you tasted horrible or I was being too clingy or becoming too attached to you or I was talking way too much and you were just too nice to tell me to shut up…"

He smiled and raised an eyebrow as he watched her flustered expression. "Tenten, I was never mad at you. I was irritated at Hanabi that day."

"Neji, you were more than irritated," she retorted, "You looked like you were going to glare a hole through the mountain with the Hokages on it. Seriously. What did she do that made you so mad?"

He looked away in… embarrassment?

"…Used the rest of my shampoo that morning."

"…" Tenten digested this information, the corners of her lips twitching. She knew it was hard for Neji to admit this, so she could not laugh. "W-well, I'm s-sure that m-must've been ve-very distressing…" her body shook with giggles. "I-I'm so sorry f-for your loss…"

"Well, she stole your kunai too."

Tenten stopped shaking suddenly; Neji smiled. He had successfully gotten her to forget about his embarrassing reason for his tantrum. "She _what_?"

Although he had a feeling it was going to be much worse now.

"…I'm sure she'll return… Tenten?" he asked feebly as she pushed him out and slammed the door shut in his face.

"Get me my kunai back. Otherwise the next time you use me I'll be dead and on a stretcher, on my way to the cemetery."

Neji groaned as he started heading back to the Hyuuga compound.

_Damn you, Hanabi._

**Author's Notes: Edited.**


	21. Infinite

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title: **__Infinite_

_**Genre:**__ Humor, romance_

_**Pairings: **__NejiTen_

_**Word count: **__5,575_

_**Summary:**__ Tenten never would've guessed that she'd fall in love… over math. Quite literally. AU_

_**Notes:**__ This is an AU, so they are in high school. Juniors, to be precise._

**Moment 21- Infinite**

Math, Tenten decided, stood for "most annoying to humanity." Not short for "mathematics."

Of course, the acronym didn't make grammatical sense, but it conveyed the message. What was the point of math, anyway? One could use history to see why certain things were how they were today. One could use literature to analyze things. One could use science to explain phenomena. But what about math? Who needed to be able to calculate how many apples he had after a goat ate four? Just count or use a calculator!

Of course, Tenten's logic did not fare well in Kakashi's Pre-Calculus class. And that was why she was now receiving an F in the class. The brunette scoffed as she looked at another failed quiz. Obviously Kakashi didn't appreciate her humor. The internet found it hilarious to circle an "x" when the question commanded "Find x."

"Tenten, a moment?"

The girl sighed and grudgingly walked back to his desk, switching her heavy textbook from one hand to the other as she adjusted her backpack on her right shoulder. "Yeah yeah, Kakashi-sensei. I'll study harder for the next one, I'll pay attention in class, I'll use my calculator for what I should be using it for instead of playing games."

"Actually I've already given up on you," Kakashi pulled out a piece of paper as Tenten smiled slightly at his bluntness. Most teachers wouldn't dare say that and Tenten wouldn't tolerate it from most teachers. However, she knew Kakashi. He was just blunt in that manner. "I found you a tutor."

"…Tutor?" she echoed. "Why? …Besides my grade, that is."

"You may not believe it, Tenten, but math will come in handy later in life," Kakashi answered as he wrote down a name and number on the piece of paper, handing it to her. "What is it you want to do? Architecture?"

Tenten nodded. She always had a love for architecture, starting when she was little. Whenever she walked in a building she'd look at the structure, either criticizing how plain it was or being mesmerized by the simplicity or detailed archways and pillars. The feel of a pencil and protractor in her hand always put her at ease, as she effortlessly drafted near perfect plans, hoping one day to see them come to life.

"Well, in architecture you'll still need math. What if you only have a certain amount of material so the perimeter of the building is limited but you want the largest area? What if you need to calculate the thinnest pipes that can be used? What if you have to add measurements? Though I admit you won't need to graph polynomial functions, unless you need to find zeros, you'll definitely need to know how to use the derivative for the first situation. Now call this guy. He was my top student last year and he owes me a favor anyway," he smiled as she took the piece of paper and peered at it, frowning slightly.

"Kakashi-sensei, you're sending me off to my death. Everyone knows that Hyuuga Neji bites off anyone's head that asks him for help."

"Yeah, well, it's either you let him kill you or your parents when they see your progress report. I never knew you could get a G in a class…"

"Fine. I'll go."

**-X-x-X-**

The next day, Tenten climbed up the stairs to her second period study hall which she spent in the large library here at Konoha Academy. It was honestly her favorite room in the whole school. The room was a semi-circular shape, with the whole length of the curve being glass so sunlight would stream in, the lights only being turned on if it was dark or raining. There were curtains but they were hardly used; the last time Tenten could remember them being used was when there was a car accident outside. The librarian, Kurenai, had closed the curtains to keep the students from peering out and whispering excitedly. Fair woman Kurenai was, but also strict about the quiet policy in the library unless it was for academic purposes, such as tutoring.

In the center of the room was the check out desk, and behind it was a large space for returned books to be sorted and other things the librarians needed. To the right of the desk were miscellaneous offices for the English teachers for students to find them when they needed help on papers. The space in front of the check out desk was the only space not filled with bookshelves, made of a deep dark brown wood that Tenten loved. The left side was filled with books that people read on a daily basis. The right side had all the boring books that students only looked at when forced to.

Along the curved wall were comfortable couches and desks; one desk typically had two seats on opposite sides, unless someone had moved one of the seats. There were other desks and seats, of course, in spaces not taken up by the bookshelves, but the people that took those were the people who seriously had things to get done. Most people took the window seats because it was more enjoyable to look outside, something that would be distracting to the student desperately trying to finish a paper for next period.

Tenten flashed her identification card at the librarians and took her favorite seat right in the middle at the top of the curve. As she settled into the plush, black leather, she took out her math textbook, notebook, folder, and pencils and set them on the light brown table and stared out the window, waiting for her tutor to arrive. She frowned as she remembered calling yesterday, and how painfully awkward the conversation was.

_Tenten fingered her pencil nervously as she sat on her bed, her cell phone firmly pressed against her ear and the paper Kakashi had given to her on her lap. She knew that most girls would have killed to get Hyuuga Neji's number, but to be honest, she would've given it to them for free. She did not want to call him. Not only was it weird, but she heard he was seriously scary._

_ "Who is this?" a deep voice answered and Tenten couldn't help by make a dry, sarcastic comment in her head. _What a nice greeting.

_ "Um, hi. I'm Tenten don't hang up!" she added in a rush when she heard him sigh. "Kakashi-sensei gave me your number! I'm not one of your fangirls, I swear. I'm literally failing math class and he said that you could tutor me tomorrow?"_

_ "…Kakashi? …Okay. When do you have a free period?"_

_ "Study hall in the library during second." She was beginning to relax; this guy wasn't that bad. He seemed kind of nice, even._

_ "Okay. I'll meet you there tomorrow." And he hung up. Tenten stared at her phone incredulously; who did this guy think he was? After all the calming she had to go through to call him, he says less than total of twenty words to her and then hangs up? On her?_

_ "Stupid prick." Tenten muttered and opened her art history book, deciding to leave the math for tomorrow, "I'm going to make things difficult for him tomorrow."_

"You're Tenten, right?"

Tenten snapped out of her reminiscing and looked up to see the Hyuuga lean against her table, his arms crossed and head slightly tilted. She did have to admit, he was strikingly good looking even if his personality was as attractive as a moldy tomato. He had pale porcelain skin that had probably never even heard of the word "blemish" that contrasted against his dark, silky hair that Pantene would pay millions for to appear on their commercials. His "hypnotic", as his fangirls called them, eyes looked slightly irritated beneath perfectly arched eyebrows, and his lips formed some kind of a grimace. Tenten was slightly offended; she didn't smell bad or anything, did she?

As he sat down, she couldn't but notice how the muscles of his upper arm flexed ever so slightly and she mentally slapped herself immediately. She had no time to notice how good looking he was. She needed to get her grade back up to an F.

"What do you need help with?" he asked and pulled her folder towards him, opening it and flipping through her quizzes before she could say the word "privacy." At his pauses and slow blinks, Tenten couldn't help but laugh nervously.

"I'm… kind of… bad at math…"

He pulled out a particularly bad quiz and held it up to her face, raising an eyebrow. "You got a negative. And it looks like you actually tried."

If it were anyone else, Tenten would've slapped him immediately. But somehow, watching him as he went through her pathetic quizzes, she couldn't help but be amused as she saw the disbelief etched on his face. She had heard it was impossibly hard to get Neji to emote. She was pleased that she could, even if it wasn't for a particularly good reason.

"…Okay," he cleared his throat, "When's your next test?"

"Three days. It's on asymptotes."

"Okay. Today I'll help you with factoring, tomorrow with finding asymptotes, and on the third day with graphing," he said as he slid her notebook towards him and retrieved a pen from his pocket. "Do you know how to factor?"

"Of course." Tenten answered immediately, surprised at how straight to the point he was about this, trying to sound confident. Of course she knew how to factor. They learned how to do that in, what, freshman year? How could she be a junior and not know how to factor? She was bad but not that bad.

"Find the zeros of this. It should be pretty elementary," he slid the notebook towards her. Tenten looked down and gulped, seeing a simple trinomial. This was basic; the highest degree was two. She should've been done with this five seconds ago. So why is she still sitting here, staring?

"I thought so," Neji murmured and she heard a hint of a smirk in his voice. "Okay, listen. Ignore that there's a number in front of the x squared. All you're doing is looking for two numbers that multiply together to the third number and add together to the second. It's guess and check, essentially. There's really no method."

Tenten blinked and continued staring at the elegant script before her. _Three x squared plus eleven x plus six. When the hell will I ever see this again?_

After a brief moment of silence, Neji sighed and pulled the notebook towards him. "It ends up being three x plus two times x plus three."

And suddenly, Tenten found herself in a whirlwind of Neji's voice and math words. And she did not enjoy it.

"Guess and check; think of factors of the coefficient and see which ones add up to the second number."

"If the highest degree is higher than two, try taking an x out so you end up with a regular quadratic. That's the easiest way."

"If you can't do that, use synthetic. The factors that will work is the all the factors of the third coefficient over all the factors of the first number. Of course, this'll get messy if you have large numbers, so always simplify as much as possible first."

"No, you can't use the quadratic for everything. Unless you can convert decimals to exact answers, you'll be screwed. And I know when you say quadratic you mean a program on your calculator; so no, you can't."

"Are you even listening?"

"Yes. No. Kind of." Tenten cleared her throat and blinked, trying to absorb all of this. "…Simplify. Synthetic. Calculator. Okay."

"…No calculator."

Tenten flushed and glared at him. "Okay, fine, I wasn't listening. I can't help it, okay? I don't know if you know the feeling of trying to pay attention to something that you not only suck at but hate. Besides, I can get someone else to do the math for me. All I have to do is design a building."

Neji raised an eyebrow. "Architecture, hm? You do seem like more of an artistic type of person to me. But trust me, you will need this. And this is the easy part of upper level math. Now, pay attention. Try factoring this…"

"Hey," she leaned across the table suddenly, over the notebook and rested her elbows on her textbook. "Kakashi-sensei said that you owed him something so that's why you'd tutor me. What's up with that?"

Neji blinked and narrowed his eyes. "What does it matter to you?"

"It doesn't. I'm just curious."

"…I'll make you a deal," he put down his pen and folded his hands, resting his chin on top of then and smirked at her. "If you get an A on this upcoming test, I'll tell you."

"…That's like telling me you'll tell me if I steal the answer key, Hyuuga."

"Are you saying you can't do it?"

Though she and Neji had never spoken before, Tenten could tell that Neji knew how to pull her strings. He knew she was the type of person that hated backing down to a challenge and admitting that she couldn't do something. That bastard knew and he was exploiting it.

She clenched her hands and grit her teeth, glaring at him. "Fine. Bet's on. Now teach me how to factor these stupid things."

He smirked again and picked up her pen, pushing the notebook towards her to show her as he began to make up more problems off the top of his head and solved them, explaining each and every step. As the period passed on, Tenten realized that this stuff was actually making sense. It finally occurred to her that she wasn't necessarily bad at factoring; she just wasn't used to playing around with numbers. That there was no strict set of rules to follow to factor; she could toy around with it as she liked, much like the design of a building, as long as it worked out in the end.

As the period ended, Neji seemed satisfied. After fifty minutes of tedious explaining, she had solved a total of three problems, which she said was a miracle. As he stood up, his hand brushed against Tenten's and the girl found herself blushing madly, luckily after he departed. She immediately shook her head, frowning slightly. "Must be all that math to my head…" she grumbled as she gathered her things and headed off to her next period class.

_That was horrible_, Tenten though as she walked amidst the crowd of students all rushing to get to their next class. She had to endure an arrogant guy for fifty minutes, teaching her her least favorite and worst subject. She had to listen to his monotone, droning voice and watch numbers skip across the page, and hear the sound of math being made.

But as she sat down in her English class, she found herself eagerly anticipating tomorrow's study hall.

**-X-x-X-**

Tenten was ready today. She had read her math textbook last night, first time since first grade that she opened anything with numbers in it, and memorized the rules for asymptotes. She wasn't going to be humiliated again; she was going to prove to Neji that she could be good at math.

As he sat down she grinned at him. "If the degrees of the numerator and denominator are equal, the asymptote is that fraction. If the top is larger, there is no asymptote. If the bottom is larger, the asymptote is zero," she recited proudly.

He blinked and smirked slightly. "I'm impressed. Now tell me, are those rules for the horizontal or vertical asymptotes?"

"…There are _two_?"

He chuckled and Tenten chose to ignore the small fluttering in her stomach at the sound as he pulled out his own notebook today and opened it to a fresh sheet of paper. "Everything you said was right; those are for the horizontal asymptotes. However, if the degree on top is larger, sometimes you can do long division to get a slanted asymptote."

"…The crap?" Tenten groaned as Neji made up another problem and began to do long division, only pausing to glance up and smile slightly, unbeknownst to her, at her distress. "I thought I was actually getting it…"

"You were," he assured her, flicking her forehead lightly, "What you know will get you a C on that section of the test. However, I think you want an A."

Tenten sighed and picked up her pencil. "Okay. Horizontal. Divide if degree on top is larger."

Neji nodded. "Now for horizontal, it's what we were doing yesterday. Factor, and the vertical asymptotes will be the zeros. Now try it."

Tenten sighed again, preparing herself for another period if failure. She stared at the problem Neji had scrawled in front of her; it was messier than yesterday's flowing script. She found this symbolic, as he became more well acquainted with her, he let down his guard and wasn't as careful as he was before. She had to say, she liked it.

_Three x squared plus sixteen x plus twenty one over x squared plus five x plus six._

Just reading it made her head hurt.

_Okay… the top is… three x plus twenty one… no, twenty one is greater than six… what makes twenty one? Oh, seven and three. Okay, three x plus three times x plus seven? No… that adds up to twenty four… three x plus seven times x plus three? …Hey. That works. Holy crap! It works! Oh my God, I'm a genius!_

"Neji! Look! I got the top!"

"Great," he glanced up from some physics notes he was skimming through. "Now solve the rest."

Feeling newly energized and proud of herself, Tenten turned her attention to the bottom. _Six… well, factors of six are one and six and two and three. First adds up to seven, second adds up to five… Okay, it's not one and six… So maybe x plus three times x plus two? No… oh! X plus two times x plus three! Holy crap! Double score! I could easily be a mathematician!_

"Look! I got the bottom too!"

"That's great," he looked up, apparently he finished his physics notes so now he was looking over his chemistry notes, "But you didn't find the asymptotes."

She was too busy gloating over her accomplishment to glare back at him. _Vertical… that's the one with zeros. Okay… so that means it's negative two and negative three, right? Since it's about finding the zeros that make the y value undefined. And then horizontal… the degrees were equal… so three x squared over x squared makes… three!_

"Horizontal asymptote is y equals three and vertical asymptotes are x equals negative two and three!"

She saw Neji freeze for a moment and he looked up slowly, his eye twitching. "…You actually got it."

"I know!"

"But," he smirked, "You missed something. There was a factor on the top and bottom that's the same. What does that mean?"

"…Less work?" she offered meekly as the bell rang and he stood up, showing his notes in his backpack.

"Good guess, but no. Doesn't matter; you got the lesson for today. It took you about twenty minutes, but you got it. The same factor thing has to do with graphing, which we'll go over tomorrow," he paused and smiled slightly at her. "I'm impressed, Tenten." And he walked off.

Tenten found herself blushing and smiling stupidly. She had a bad feeling about this yesterday, but she had brushed it off. The first and only person to try to actually patiently help her with math was the most arrogant guy she had ever known. But the fact that he didn't snap or give up on her made her happy. And the fact that someone like him, national math champion, would compliment someone like her, worse than a baby at addition, made her happy too.

_I hate crushes._

**-X-x-X-**

Tenten was ready today.

She had taken several deep breaths during first period to calm herself. She was going to impress him today. She was going to solve any problem he threw at her flawlessly.

As she saw him enter the library, she unconsciously ran her fingers through her bangs, suddenly painfully aware of how her hair didn't swoosh as gracefully as Ino's did or have an eye catching color like Sakura's. She was also aware that her nails were plain, her hands slightly smudged because of all the pencil drawings she did. Suddenly, she wished she were girlier.

"Hey."

"H-hi!" she said, immediately mentally smacking herself for being overly bright. She never saw Neji associate with his fangirls, but she assumed he hated them. They were annoying to even think about.

"Today we put everything together. When do you have math?"

"S-seventh." _Damnit! Stop stuttering!_

"Okay. You should still have your lunch period to review this," he took out his notebook and sketched a Cartesian plane. "Graphing really isn't as difficult as people make it seem. You plot your zeros on the graph, and sketch your asymptotes after finding them. Your curves always approach the asymptotes, but never quite touch. They sometimes pass through horizontal asymptotes, but I asked Kakashi and he said those wouldn't be on those test, so you shouldn't be too worried."

Tenten nodded as she listened attentively; as much as she hated that she had a crush on him, she had to admit that it did help. She might actually get a D on this test.

"Yesterday," she cleared her throat, telling her to stay calm, "You said something about the same factor being on top and bottom…"

"You listened," he noted and looked at her in surprise then smirked, "Glad you remembered. If you have the same on the top and bottom when you factor, that's a hole. Cancel those terms out and plug in that number to find the y value; at that point on the graph, you just leave an open circle to indicate that at that point there is no value, but it isn't an asymptote. Ready to try one?" he glanced at the clock. "You have forty minutes."

Tenten nodded as he handed her his notebook. "Don't underestimate me, Hyuuga. I'll solve it."

"I hope it takes you fewer than thirty minutes. Kakashi said there'd be two or three graphing problems on the test."

She stuck her tongue out at him and read the problem he gave her today. _X squared plus nine x plus eighteen over x squared plus seven x plus twelve._

Immediately she wrote down the asymptotes, hearing Neji's voice in her head. _Horizontal is… one because the degrees are the same. Huh, I was expecting a slanted asymptote. Vertical is… um… factored it would be x plus… six and x plus two? No… oh! X plus three and x plus four. So the vertical asymptotes are negative three and negative four!_

She smiled slightly, pleased with how well she was doing. _Okay, zeros. Those are the vertical asymptotes, so negative three and four._

She moved onto the graph and began plotting her points until she heard coughing from the other side of the table. Looking up, she saw Neji, his eyes darting from her to the paper. "Is there a gap in your brain or something?"

"What the…" she looked down and peered at the problem, then her features relaxed. "…Oh."

She heard him laugh lightly and she returned to the problem, looking at the top. _Eighteen has factors of two and nine or three and six… three plus six is nine so it's x plus six times x plus three… oh, the x plus three is on the top and bottom. Okay, so that means there's only one vertical asymptote and zero… there's a hole and negative three… cross those factors out… the x value would be three over one, so three. Hole at negative three, three._

Now she moved onto the graph after hearing no more coughing. Judging by the sound of him shifting, she figured he had been watching her and decided she could draw a couple of curves and left her be. She smiled and sketched the two perpendicular lines, taking only a few seconds to draw the curves when she remembered that Neji said they'd never cross the horizontal asymptotes, for now, and there was only one zero so it wouldn't cross below the x axis again.

"Here."

He took his notebook and glanced over it; Tenten heard the ticking of a clock ominously in her head as her hands sweat. She hoped it was right; she wanted to impress him. And know that she could graph a rational expression, of course.

"Nice job," he threw the notebook down on the table, earning him a couple of glares for the sudden loud noise, "It's right."

"Really?" she almost bounced out of her chair and clasped her hands together, grinning widely. "No way! I thought I'd never actually get a math problem right! Holy crap, Neji, you must be a miracle worker!"

He shrugged and put his book down, resting his elbow against the table. "There's only so much I can do. The rest was up to you."

"Yeah but I'd get nowhere without a good tutor! Speaking of which," she paused, "I haven't had many tutors, but the ones that tried me completely gave up and they were nowhere near your intelligence level… so why…"

"Honestly," he sighed, "I wasn't looking forward on the first day. I didn't want to skip English…"

"…You've skipped English three days in a row now?"

"Of course. I have no study hall or lunch. Anyway, I didn't want to skip English to help some bumbling brunette that was failing a math class in a way I never imagined possible," he looked over at her and smirked at her sheepish grin, "And looking through your tests, I thought I was going to have to work really hard. But you impressed me; never thought someone who couldn't get an F plus in the class would be able to pick up on this so quickly. This, to me, is one of the more confusing parts."

"Well," she shrugged, internally rejoicing at his indirect compliment, "you're a good teacher. And now I will ace this test and make you tell me what it is that Kakashi-sensei has on you!"

He just smirked and suddenly frowned and leaned forward. Tenten's breath hitched in her throat as she saw his flawless face come closer and closer. _W-w-w-what? …In public? Neji! I'm going to get lynched!_ She squeezed her eyes shut, mentally preparing for the worst and physically hoping for the best. However, all she felt was something being pulled out of her hair and her eyes flicked open just as he pulled back. "Some feather got in your hair somehow…"

"O-oh." She sighed; she felt so disappointed and cheated. There had to be some law that prevented hot guys from doing that to poor, unsuspecting girls. "You know," she spoke up again, frowning, "Wait. Asymptotes go on forever, right?"

As Neji nodded, she continued. "The concept of infinity is so weird to me… because I imagine asymptotes like buildings. They have to stop sometime… how can they go on forever? How can something get infinitely close but never touch? It doesn't make sense to me…"

Neji turned towards her, causing her heart to flutter slightly because she knew she now had his full attention. "Math doesn't always make sense. Mathematicians just figured that infinity was easier to use than a bunch of numbers. It's hard to fathom, but it does exist."

"It's weird… everything has to end, doesn't it?"

He blinked and for a second, she swore she saw something flicker in his eyes as he smirked. "Not everything."

And then Tenten's least favorite sound of second period was heard. The bell rang.

She gathered her stuff quietly and stood up, noticing that for some reason Neji was lingering today. "So," she cleared her throat, "where can I find you after school? Because I have a good feeling about this test."

He blinked and smirked. "Foyer after school. I'll wait there for you. Good luck," he called over his shoulder and disappeared through the door, blending in seamlessly with the students all rushing to their next class.

Tenten sighed and picked up her math book, looking at it with fondness for the first time ever. "You know, you're a pretty good matchmaker, Mr. Pre-Calc."

**-X-x-X-**

This was it. The moment of truth.

"Kakashi-sensei! Can't you grade any faster?" Tenten whined, tapping her fingers against the silver haired teacher's desk. Deciding to skip eighth period, she spent it in the classroom, waiting for him to grade her test. Kakashi, sensing that Tenten desperately had to know her test grade, put it off until the end of the period. Thought tests usually took him only five minutes to grade, he enjoyed dragging it out and watching her suffer. People told him he had a sadism problem. He just thought he liked to be entertained.

"Calm down, Tenten. You sure you want to know what you got?" he asked as he flipped another page and compared it to his key.

"Yes!"

She crossed her arms and leaned against the desk, tapping her foot impatiently. Neji must've left by now, she thought sadly as she glanced at the clock. School had been let out over twenty minutes ago and knowing Neji, he probably would've left to avoid his fangirls. Even so, she still held onto that small shred of hope that he might still be there. Just maybe.

"Well," Kakashi spoke and rolled her test up in a tub, tapping it against his fingers as he counted off things. "You thought three times two was thirty two, something common for you. On one of the problems, you got vertical and horizontal mixed up. And then you wrote that a factor of sixteen was one and six."

"…And?" though that did sound bad, Tenten had to admit, it sounded much better than some of the other mistakes she had made.

"…Miraculously, you got an A," Kakashi smiled and handed her the test, letting it unfurl. Tenten grabbed it and scanned the red marks at the top. Indeed, though barely, the number "90" was written across and underlined three times. No number had ever seemed to beautiful to her.

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei!" she grinned and picked up her backpack, sprinting out of the room. She ran through the hallways and up the stairs as fast as she possibly could, hoping that Neji was still there. Logic told her he would be gone by now, it had been almost half an hour, but maybe he was still there.

When she reached the foyer, she put a hand against the wall and the other against her knee, clutching the furled test tightly and panting for breath, scanning the area. With each glance her heart seemed to plummet a bit more until she saw the familiar dark hair leaning against a pillar, holding a book and scanning it.

She grinned and pushed herself off the wall and ran towards him, throwing her arms around him, causing the two to fall over, earning several curious glances. Who was this strange girl that tackled Hyuuga Neji?

"Neji! I got an A!" she proudly unfurled the test and waved it in front of his face. "My first A ever in math! And it's all thanks to you! Thank you thank you thank you!"

He took the test from her and scanned through it, snorting. "Five to the third is fifty three, huh?"

She chose to ignore that comment and leaned down, hovering her face over his. He smiled slightly. "You want to know?"

"Yup."

"He knows who I have a crush on." Under normal circumstances, Tenten would've stared at him and pushed herself off him, fighting back her tears. However, as he said those words, she felt his hand come up to a strand of loose hair framing her face and twirled it around his finger softly. "And he threatened to tell her if I didn't help you with your math."

"So? Who's the lucky girl?" she asked, leaning closer, amazed at her own bravery. For all she knew, he could still be messing with her.

"Well," he glanced at the test in his other hand again, "She thinks that the letters x and y can be used interchangeably."

"Oh shut up!" she laughed and leaned down, smashing her lips roughly against his, barely feeling his other hand come around her waist, holding her closer to him. She pulled back first, only for air, and rested her forehead against hers, grinning stupidly. "You know how you said that some things never end? That they're infinite? What'd you mean by that?"

"Call me sappy and romantic," he muttered, looking at her and smirking, "But I think love can be infinite. I don't think you can ever fall out of love if it's with the right person."

She laughed and then bit her lip, grinning. "Who would've thought?"

"Thought what?" he murmured, smirking back up at her, the two completely oblivious to the stares they were getting and the hissing sound of the fangirls hiding behind various objects.

"That I'd fall in love over my math stuff on a library table."

**Author's Notes: I am so very sorry if some of the math is wrong… that'd be humiliating considering I plan on majoring in math in college, haha. I should've actually done it by hand to check it, but I was too lazy to get paper and a pencil so I was doing it in my head… This was fun to write; I combined two of my favorite things. Thank you for reading, please review!**


	22. Senior Year

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_**Title:** Senior Year_

_**Genre: **Romance, humor_

_**Pairings: **NejiTen_

_**Word count:** 2,586_

_**Summary: **Senior year was good to Tenten. "Class, we have a student teacher joining us for this year. His name is Hyuuga Neji." Very good._

_**Note: **Neji and Shikamaru are a year older than everyone._

_**Note 2:** Once I find more time, I promise, I am renaming this, haha. I need to sleep, but I need to title this thing. So I am so sorry for the lame title._

**Senior Year**

"Late, I am so late, so incredibly late," Tenten breathed as she ran through the hallways of Konoha High, narrowly dodging the backpacks and bodies of students. The freshmen all parted way for her, the navy indicated her of her senior status this year. However, her fellow seniors were not so kind. "Move it, you prick!"

"Watch it, bun-girl!"

Tenten ignored the lame comeback and swerved sharply into room 109 and collapsed into the desk next to Sakura, who was grinning at her. "I always look forward to seeing how you arrive on the first day of school."

"Shut up, Sakura," Tenten muttered and gave her friend a half hearted smile. "How are you never late?"

Sakura shrugged, smoothing down her dark skirt, smiling innocently and straightening up. "I'm the model student, after all. Model students are never late."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I forgot who I was talking to."

The two giggled just as the bell rang and Asuma walked in, flicking his cigarette into a nearby trash can. "Good morning, seniors!"

"Asuma-sensei!" a voice called from the back, "You're not allowed to smoke!"

"Yeah well, this class was for the gifted but that didn't stop you!" Asuma grinned and leaned against the desk, crossing his arms. "I am Asuma; welcome to advanced placement government. This class will be boring, hard, everything you expect a government class to be. Maybe you'll do well on the advanced placement exam; maybe not. But hey, who cares? You're seniors."

A ripple of laughter went through the classroom and Tenten sighed, resting her chin on her hand, smiling softly.

A summer had passed.

_ "Hyuuga Neji."_

_ Tenten felt her skin prickle as his name was called and he walked across the stage, accepting his diploma, and she clapped politely like the rest of the crowd. Hyuuga Neji, the prodigy of the year. She couldn't help falling for him like the rest of the girls in school. His dark hair, his pale skin, his silvery eyes, and slender figure… it seemed like the Gods decided to make a perfect specimen one day._

_ They didn't know each other that well. Tenten remembered passing him in hallways occasionally. Sometimes he'd glance at her and smirk in her direction or nod at her to acknowledge her existence, but other times he wouldn't see her and simply walk past. Tenten felt extremely blessed that he knew her name; it was all thanks to Hinata._

_ He was supposedly the "ice king" of the school. True, he kept his distance from many people, only actually conversing normally with his select group of friends, his best friend being Nara Shikamaru. But she knew that he wasn't a complete jerk; when she went to Hinata's, she'd see him in the garden, feeding the birds. Once she had approached him, curious as to what he was doing. Instead of sending her away, he simply smiled and invited her to watch the birds with him._

_ "Hey."_

_ Tenten straightened up and looked around, realizing that everyone was gone. Turned out she had spaced out for the rest of the ceremony, leaving her sitting alone in the mass of chairs with Neji standing right by her. She flushed darkly. "H-hi."_

_ He raised an eyebrow to ask the obvious question._

_ "Um… c-congratulations on graduating!" she stood up shakily and managed a shaky grin at him, pretending the idea of spending her last year in high school without seeing him ever again wasn't tearing her apart. She heard from Hinata that he was going overseas to study at Harvard University in America. She was happy for him that he was going to such a prestigious university, but incredibly saddened at the same time._

_ "Thanks." He seemed to take no notice as to what his appearance was doing to her and glanced over his shoulder, where everyone was. "Shall we?"_

_ "Y-yeah."_

_ Tenten followed him as he turned around and headed towards the tree where her group of friends and his were; though a year apart, they were all close. When his fingers brushed against hers, she felt her breath hitch in her throat. Had he meant to do that?_

_ "Oi, graduate!" Naruto grinned at Neji, raising a glass of water, "Congrats! Time for you to be a smartass at Harvard, hm?"_

_ "So what were you two talking about?" Ino's harsh whisper surprised Tenten and the brunette whirled around, seeing a pair of twinkling blue eyes._

_ Tenten scoffed, ignoring the obvious blush. "Nothing."_

_ "Mhm." Ino made some kind of a humming noise, grinning at Tenten. "I believe you."_

"This is so depressing…" Tenten whined as the bell rang and everyone began to leave, all rushing out of the door. Asuma was over by the open window, smoking another cigarette.

"It's okay, Tenten! There are other guys! Come on!" Sakura tugged at her friend, "Hey, who knows? Maybe Neji'll be back for some reason! Come on, Tenten! Don't die yet! Senior year barely began!"

Tenten groaned and let herself be dragged through the school by Sakura.

_Senior year is going to suck._

**-X-x-X-**

"Since when did woodshop and pottery join together?"

"Since the damn school board cut funding for the arts, un!" Deidara huffed and leaned against the wall, glaring at the redhead. "Hey! Danna! Help me with these brats, will you, un?"

"A brat like you should understand them better than I do…"

"Danna, un!"

"You act like a child."

"At least I look my age, un! That's some good aging lotion you've got there!"

"You also look like a girl."

"At least girls don't come up to me and ask if it'd be considered statuary rape if we bang, un!"

The students sweat dropped. Half of them were in this class because of the art requirement, and the other half because they heard that the art teachers were _really_ cute.

The looks didn't disappoint. But they didn't know that they acted more immature than the incoming freshmen.

"All right, un. Well, my name is Deidara," after a final dirty look at Sasori, Deidara began to speak. "That's Sasori. I'm in charge of the pottery half of this class; he's in charge of woodshop, un. I don't care where you lose a finger; you're still an idiot for losing a finger."

"Better you lose it with Deidara though," Sasori added as he put a box on a shelf and returned to the front of the classroom, standing next to the blonde. "He actually cares."

"Because last time I checked, blood was not used to paint pottery. You can always get a new piece of wood, un."

"Hinata," Tenten whispered to the Hyuuga next to her, ignoring the image of Neji springing into her mind when she saw the blue-haired girl's eyes, "Is it too late to transfer to another art class?"

Hinata smiled softly. "They argue, but I heard they're both good teachers because they're passionate about art."

"Yeah, well, I'd like to keep my fingers."

"Hey, Deidara-sensei?" a hand went up and Tenten looked over, smirking slightly when she saw it was a familiar face.

"Hey, Hinata. Kiba's in this class!" Hinata glanced over and blushed lightly and coughed, earning a small giggle from Tenten.

"Hm?"

"Why do you refer to Sasori-sensei as 'danna'?"

Deidara blinked and looked at Sasori, who in turned stared back. "He makes me, un."

"I do _not._"

"Threatens to cut off my fingers with the bone saw he keeps in his office, un."

"That's not as realistic as the fact that you put explosives in your clay once."

"It was an experiment, un."

"One that almost cost me my head."

"You know danna, maybe I'd enjoy your company more if you were headless, un."

Tenten sighed, standing up after the two dysfunctional teachers split the class in half and followed the group she was in towards the pottery wheels as the other headed off towards the woodcutting tables. She vaguely heard Sasori's monotonous voice warning them about long hair and articles of clothing but she pushed it out of her mind and turned her attention to Deidara.

"You cut. You mold. You spin. You take off. Easy enough, un." Deidara narrated as everyone watched in awe as the blonde flawlessly and at lightning speed formed an elegant looking vase and held it up for everyone, smirking at their reactions. "To be honest, all I'm expecting from you today is to cut the clay. So, good luck! I'll be walking around to check your progress."

As the small group dispersed to find aprons, Tenten found herself stopped by Deidara's hand on her shoulder. She blinked and looked at him, feeling nervous. Did just her presence in the art room ruin something?

"Tenten, right, un?"

"Yeah. …Did I do something wrong already?"

Deidara laughed and fished a letter out of the pocket of his apron and handed it to Tenten, smirking. "I was told to give this to you, un. Now go work."

Tenten thanked him and walked over to the aprons, where Hinata was waiting patiently with one. She tilted her head when she saw Tenten with the letter. "What's that?"

"Wish I knew…" she muttered and folded it up carefully and put it in her pocket and took the apron from Hinata's outstretched arms, grinning. "Okay, Hinata! It's time to watch me destroy this place!"

**-X-x-X-**

Tenten had lied to Hinata. She had a vague idea what the letter meant.

_Hey._

She didn't want to admit it, but that elegant script was familiar. She had memorized it, keeping the yearbook with his signature safe. The way that the letter was originally folded, the perfectly straight lines and symmetry could only point to one person.

Neji.

She felt her heart skip a beat whenever she thought back to it, as she headed off to her last class of the day, calculus with Kakashi. It had to be Neji. But why did he give her that letter? There was no way it was sent all the way from Massachusetts. Was he really back? But… she glanced around slightly, where was he?

Tenten sighed as she entered the classroom, sitting down in a seat near the back. Math was never her strong point; no need to pretend she was paying attention. She was pretty sure she was infamous for her lack of ability with numbers.

As the classroom began to fill with the other students, Tenten took out the letter and reopened it, staring at the single word on it. Why did Neji even bother? He knew where to find her; she went to Hinata's often and he knew where she lived. What made her so special as to give her a letter? Tenten already felt she could die happy knowing Neji knew her name.

"Good afternoon! Last class of the day; don't go jumping out the window just yet!"

Tenten sighed again and put the letter away and looked up to the front of the classroom and saw Kakashi, looking oddly formal with a crisp white shirt and black tie and black pants. She frowned; why was he dressed up?

"In case you were wondering, I had a meeting with the principal today. Thought it was important, so I dressed up."

"Did you get fired?" a voice called and everyone laughed.

Kakashi smirked. "Not quite. Sorry, but I got a raise. Anyway, my name is Kakashi, I am your calculus teacher. Some of you will find this class easy; some will find it hard. Most of you will find it hard."

The last comment elicited groans. Tenten smiled slightly and looked down at the note in her hands, ignoring the creaking open of the door and gasps of several girls. She heard that the new theology teacher, Hidan was his name?, was incredibly hot; he probably got lost and wandered in by accident.

"And thus, Tsunade has anticipated that and given you guys another source for help. Class, we have a student teacher joining us for this year. His name is Hyuuga Neji."

And with that, Tenten's head snapped up so quickly she thought it was going to keep going and snap right off her neck.

But there was no doubt about it. Standing there by the door was Neji, looking just as perfect as she had last remembered him. She saw his eyes scan across the classroom impatiently before landing on her and he locked his gaze with hers, smirking slightly and holding up a hand for a brief wave before dropping it and walking over to Kakashi.

Tenten so wished she saw front center right now.

**-X-x-X-**

That period was _grueling._

Kakashi seemed to talk forever, and Neji spoke too little. She craved the sound of his deep baritone voice, but all she got was Kakashi's annoying one that kept babbling on about honesty, study habits, and luck.

Tenten had wanted math class to end quickly before, but this time she really thought she was going to go insane. She felt sorry for the kid in front of her; her foot was shaking on the basket the entire time and her fingers drummed impatiently in the corner of her desk. She was amazed that he didn't spin around and tell her to shut up, but she soon realized that it was Naruto in front of her and he was sleeping.

When the bell finally rung, Tenten found she was frozen to her seat, wishing for the period to replay. She bit her lip and put her things away slowly as she saw Neji head towards her, sitting down in Naruto's desk and face her, smirking. "Hey."

"H-hi." She cleared her throat, finding it hard to look at him. "I got your um… note."

He nodded. "I was hoping you would."

"So um…" she bit her lip as she watched Kakashi leave, meaning they were alone in the classroom together. "What brings you back?"

Neji reached into his pocket and pulled something out and held it in front of her, opening his hand and letting a pendant on a chain drop and hang in front of her face. Tenten blinked a few times before remembering it as a silver ring she had returned to him once. "…A ring?"

"My mother's," he said simply and lowered his hand, "I misplaced it. For months, I threw the house apart, looking for it and had given up hope, thinking that some person came in and stole it or it was thrown away by accident. But then one day you come and find it. Not only that but you returned it to me without me ever telling you I was looking for it." He looked up at her and smirked. "So thank you."

"…You came back to thank me for finding your ring?" Tenten blinked incredulously. "That is one long plane ride that could've been solved with one short phone call."

"Oh, no. I came back for something else."

"…And that is?"

"You."

And with that final word, he cupped the right side of her face gently and leaned in, brushing his lips against hers softly. At that moment, Tenten felt fireworks go off and she gripped her backpack tightly, needing something to hold onto otherwise she would've floated away. She held her breath, only breathing when he pulled back moments later, smirking still. "Are you still bad at math?"

"Terrible," she breathed as he stood up and tugged at her hand gently, motioning for her to stand up as well.

"Good."

Turns out senior year wasn't as bad as Tenten had thought it would be.

**Author's Notes: Yes, the title has been changed. I chose "Hummingbird" because they're small but powerful (wings) so that fit Tenten in my opinion, and it was a bird, which fit Neji, in my opinion.**

** Now for a note on the actual oneshot. No real plot, kind of short, kind of random, kind of rushed. I had fun though, especially the Deidara and Sasori part (slightly obsessed with them.) I do apologize if it was rushed; I wrote this on a whim without too much thought to commemorate the last day of summer. School starts tomorrow; I am not very thrilled about that, but there's not much I can do about it.**

** Thank you for reading, please review!**


	23. Eternity

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

**Title:** Eternity

**Genre:** Romance

**Pairings:** NejiTen; slight AsuKure, KakaAnko; mention of SasuSaku

**Word count:** 5,600

**Summary:** "If two people are meant to be, they will find their way back together."

**Eternity**

Tenten hated her job. She hated being a waitress and watch pervy men take in the too tight black shirt and pants. She was the one that had rallied for pants and a shirt instead of the tiny skirt that waitresses were wearing when she first applied for the job, but she had imagined much looser garments. At least she had the half apron around her waist, the one that was usually filled with straws, pens, and her notepad. It helped slightly, but not much.

"Hello, welcome to the Konoha Leaf; I'm Tenten and I'll be your waitress tonight!" she smiled brightly as she placed four menus in front of the occupants at the table. She hated this part too; the always happy, always optimistic, always cheerful attitude that was required. It wasn't as if Tenten was an angry person, she just hated forcing herself to smile brightly and acting cheerful all the time. She was naturally pleasant, but if she had to force it, things turned ugly soon.

"Good evening, Tenten," a familiar voice spoke as Tenten took out her notepad and began to write things down, "I wasn't aware you worked here!"

Tenten's eyes flickered up and the hazel eyes widened before her lips broke out into the first genuine grin of the evening. "Kurenai-san! Hi!" Back when Tenten was still a student at Tokyo University, Kurenai had been her favorite teacher. She had been a history major and Kurenai taught the class on the history of weapons. It was her favorite class by far and it was the reason for why she decided she would settle for nothing less than a job as a museum curator. She loved history, especially the weapons, and she would love to work somewhere, surrounded by age old artifacts and people who truly appreciated them.

However, at twenty three and broke, finding a job as a museum curator was at the bottom of her list. At the top was paying her rent and feeding herself and, Tenten would remember sadly, finding a job as a curator was extremely difficult. Even by working her way up, it would take too long; right now, she didn't have that kind of time.

So, she settled for the fulltime position as a waitress at one of Konoha's most popular restaurants. She liked food, but that was about it. She walked around for nine hours a day, served dozens of people, dealt with crying children and whining adults, and spent far too much money on comfortable shoe inserts. However, sometimes she'd get a genuinely kind customer, like right now, and she would be extremely grateful for them.

"Nice to see you, Tenten. I hope your current job doesn't require any knowledge of organic chemistry."

"Kakashi-san," Tenten laughed, greeting her other former teacher, "Trust me, the only knowledge of science that I have to know is that hot things are bad. What would you guys like to drink?" she asked and clicked her pen and looked at the four, realizing the other two were her former teachers as well. Kurenai, her weapon history teacher. Kakashi, her organic chemistry teacher (she absolutely loathed that class). Asuma, her calculus teacher (who had assigned the class a ten page paper and Tenten still didn't understand how she came up with a ten page paper about math). And last but not least, Anko, her badass probability of gambling class teacher. Though not very good at math, Tenten managed to get an A in that class. Anko's teaching style was simple: send the kids to the casino weekly and let them get drunk and gamble. The kid's grades depended on how much they won and luckily for Tenten, she had a high alcohol tolerance and good memory for certain things, one of which was gambling. Tenten was surprised that the university continued to allow Anko to teach this way.

"Water…"

"Nonsense!" Tenten couldn't help but laugh as Asuma casually rested his arm around Kurenai's shoulders, earning him a bright red blush from the red eyed woman. "Red wine all around! Do you have Pinot noir?"

"A-Asuma! I don't drink!"

"Tonight you do, baby!"

"Disgusting, isn't it?" Kakashi muttered, flicking his eyes at his coworkers, "Flirting so outrageously… A-Anko! Get your foot away!"

"Right, Kakashi-san," Tenten laughed and pocketed her notepad, and walked away, grinning, "I'll be back soon with your drinks!"

Tenten weaved through the maze of tables and people as she slipped towards the beverages area. It usually wasn't this busy, but since it was a Friday night, well, she liked to keep herself positive by reminding herself she would get several tips. "Excuse me" she would mutter as she squeezed past other waiters and waitresses, arms heavy with trays and "sorry" as she bumped into some of them and for a terrifying moment, they thought they were going to spill fettuccini alfredo all over the guest.

"Tenten! New table for you, table forty one!"

"Give me a second!" Tenten hollered back as she grabbed a tray and four wine glasses before slipping into the wine storage area. Personally Tenten didn't drink, and so she didn't understand how people could differentiate between wines. To her, the only difference was the labels. However, finding the Pinot noir, she carefully took it out and placed it on top of her tray, one hand holding it steady as she weaved her way back to the table.

"Here you go!" she said brightly and carefully placed the wine glasses down in front of them. She then carefully placed the bottle of wine on the table and left a wine opener; courtesy said that she should have opened the bottle but she knew better. Asuma loved opening wine bottles for some odd reason that she never understood. "I'll be back in a few minutes to take your orders, okay?"

And with that, she disappeared, pausing by the front to grab two menus (she had glanced at table forty one and saw two people sitting there) before going through the obstacle course she worked at called a restaurant again. Tenten found it ironic that she lost weight by working in a place where people tended to gain weight, but she didn't mind. Better to lose weight than gain it, she supposed.

"Good evening and welcome to…" Tenten started off with her normal, fake cheery self, first looking at the female and giving her the menu. However, once she looked at the person sitting across from her, she instantly froze, her hand and menu in midair. "…Hi, Neji."

Neji seemed equally surprised to see her as he looked up. After a few minutes he seemed to snap out of his shock and nodded quietly. "Hello, Tenten."

Tenten couldn't believe her eyes. Hyuuga Neji, the one who graduated Tokyo University's medical school with the highest honors, and also her ex-boyfriend, was sitting here in front of him. She really didn't expect him here. For one, she heard that he was somewhere in America at John Hopkins Hospital for his residency. And the last time she checked, this was Tokyo, Japan.

Also, seeing Neji in his crisp, white dress shirt and black dress pants with the jacket thrown almost carelessly to his side in the booth was out of place at the restaurant. Although not a diner, Konoha Leaf definitely was not the five star restaurant he should be in. The carpets were a deep red and the booths along the sides were all elevated on a dark, mahogany wood. The pillars and seats were made of the same wood, with red plush for comfort. Tables had a beige tablecloth over them and the dining room was dim, lit only by the fake candles mounted on the wall and real ones on each table, with one fluorescent light in the ceiling that was mostly obscured. It was more of a romantic, casual restaurant; Tenten expected Neji to dine at some snobby place where the waiters looked at you with contempt if you used the wrong fork.

"Oh uh…" Tenten cleared her throat and glanced at the female sitting across from him. She was very, very pretty, with her silvery Hyuuga eyes like Neji that had a tint of lavender in them and long, navy hair that cascaded down her shoulders and onto her pale skin and lilac dress. She smiled shyly and nodded her head when she made eye contact with Tenten before looking away. Tenten blinked again, feeling something in her chest rip. _Is… is this his fiancée?_ "Welcome… to Konoha Leaf," she managed a weak smile at the two, "What would you like to uh… drink?"

"Water for both of us," Neji answered quietly; she noticed he had never taken her eyes off of him. She turned around to leave but was stopped by something. Turning around, she realized it was Neji's hand on her wrist and she instantly flushed darkly.

"Neji… Hyuuga-san," she decided to go with a more detached way of addressing him, wondering if the brief look of shock and pain was in her imagination, "Is there something you need?"

"Nothing… just," Neji let go of her wrist and kept his gaze on her, "…Good to see you."

"…Yeah," Tenten smiled softly, "Good to see you again too."

As Tenten made her way away from the table, Hinata looked at Neji, her eyes wide. "N-Neji-niisan! Isn't that Tenten-san, your ex-girlfriend?"

Neji sighed and ran a hand through his dark brown hair, giving the impression that he was not expecting this. However, he was. He had specifically picked this restaurant just to meet her; he had unfinished business and he wanted it taken care of. "Yes, Hinata-sama. It is."

Hinata's eyes were still wide. "D-don't you still love her?"

"…Yes, Hinata-sama. I do."

"I think she thinks I'm your fiancée!"

Neji couldn't help but smirk slightly, seeing Hinata get so riled up. When he and Tenten had broken up, she had burst into his room with a tray of ramen and hot tea, flushing and telling him that she was sorry for his loss, she would be there to listen to him, all the usual. Though cousins, they shared a kind of brother and sister relationship. Neji would always be there to protect Hinata in school from perverts or bullies and as a result, Hinata respected and looked up to Neji immensely. They were close but from the way Hinata acted, no one could really tell.

He had stared at her and told her to set the tray down on the bureau and sit down and close the door. She had obliged immediately and he had confessed to her that he was still in love with Tenten and how breaking up with her was the stupidest mistake he had ever made. She had listened intently as he unconsciously began to ramble on about how much she meant to him and how he couldn't believe he was such an idiot. Ever since then, Hinata had made several poor attempts to get the two back together.

However, sweet and shy girls aren't the best at playing matchmaker.

"I'm sure she does, Hinata-sama."

"What should we…" Hinata's rising voice fell into silence when Neji put a finger up to his lip as he saw Tenten approaching. He smirked and instantly Hinata calmed down, knowing that the smirk signified that he had a plan and she relaxed into a smile.

"Don't worry," he said lowly just before she reached their table, "It'll be fine."

**-X-x-X-**

Tenten was suspicious.

The brunette narrowed her eyes as she leaned against a wall and crossed her arms, tapping her fingers against her slender forearm as she watched Neji and Sasuke sit at a booth. After last night's extremely awkward dinner, she had thanked the deities that nothing happened and she assumed she would never see him again. However, here he was, having lunch at the Konoha Leaf the very next day after the embarrassing encounter.

This had to be just as awkward for Neji as it was for her. They had broken up after a seriously relationship and have avoided each other ever since. So why was he still coming here?

_"Tenten, look. It wasn't my idea. It was my uncle's. I promise you, he knows of our relationship," Neji called through Tenten's locked door to her dorm, "He simply wishes to have things his way. I didn't know anything about it, I swear!"_

_ After a disastrous, what should have been simple, dinner, Tenten had stormed out of Hyuuga manor and taken the first train back to Tokyo University. The two had been dating for about a year now, and were seniors at the university at their respective graduate schools. Neji had finally caved in and taken Tenten to dinner with his family; Tenten was positive she could wow them with her charm. However, Neji didn't account for the fact that Hiashi would bring out the three possible fiancées he had chosen for Neji. As the eldest Hyuuga male, and the fact that Hanabi and Hinata were not well suited to run a company, Hiashi had assumed that Neji would take over the company. As such, he proposed having him marry the daughter of another large company to ensure good relations. He assumed Neji's relationship with Tenten was a "fling" and disregarded it._

_ "Yeah, well, they were really pretty," came a muffled voice through the door, "So you might as well go marry one of them!"_

_ "I don't want any of them," Neji spoke after a brief pause, lowering his voice, "…The only one I want is you."_

_ The door was pulled open all of a sudden, and Neji felt the air being sucked in, almost taking him along with it. A frazzled and slightly disheveled Tenten appeared, glaring heavily at him. "Neji, we come from two completely different worlds. Maybe Hiashi's right; it's stupid for you to throw everything away for me. Come on, you're going to tell me that you never thought about what it would be like to run Hyuuga Corporations? You would be set and you know you would make your father proud. Am I really worth all that you could lose?"_

_ "You are."_

_ Tenten gripped the doorknob tightly and bit her lip, looking away. They had this argument several times and they usually left it at this, but she always had a question lurking on the tip of her tongue, always wanting to be asked but never finding the courage to do so._

_ "So why don't you fight for me?"_

_ The words slipped out before she had a chance to think about what she was saying. As soon as they were spoken, she flushed guiltily and looked down again, avoiding eye contact with him. Suddenly, she felt so self conscious; the question she just asked made her feel like he saw her as selfish, only thinking about her and not him._

_ "…What do you mean?" Neji asked quietly and leaned against the doorframe, frowning as he studied her face. "I care…"_

_ "I know you care about me," suddenly, Tenten couldn't control any of her thoughts anymore, "I know you love me and that you want to be with me. But you've known about Hiashi's plans to have you marry someone ever since we started grad school. So why is it that every time he mentions it you just mutter something and leave it at that? I've never seen or heard you tell him that no, it isn't what you want. I want to be with you and I trust you completely, but… I don't know if you want me to be with you as much as I want to be with you."_

_ "Tenten," Neji paused for a moment, "I care for you deeply, but to throw away my relationship with Hiashi-sama… do you really believe our relationship is at that level?"_

_ It was like Neji just dropped a bomb in between them. He instantly felt remorse wash over him when he saw the expression on the girl's face and he immediately reprimanded himself for being so stupid and thoughtless. It wasn't that he considered this relationship a fling, it was that he never realized how important she was to him until now. Of course he meant his words when he told her he loved her and cared for her, but up until this point, he had never decided if his family was more important to him or if she was. As soon as he said that, he realized that he would choose her over his stupid family any day._

_ "Tenten…"_

_ "No, it's okay, Neji," Tenten interrupted him and brought a hand up to her face to wipe away the sudden tears, "I'm sorry. I guess… I got too attached too quickly and of course you won't want that. So I think it's best if we just… you know… break up. Because…"_

_ "You say it so casually."_

_ "…What?" Tenten looked up and for once felt scared by his cold, emotionless gaze. She had never once felt threatened by Neji and even now, deep down, she knew that he would never harm her. But his gaze was deathly cold and she felt as if he had already killed her._

_ "You say it so casually," he continued, a new hard edge to his voice, "As if our relationship wasn't anything serious. As if breaking up is just another decision that you made on a whim, one that wouldn't have any serious consequences. You just implied that you took our relationship incredibly seriously, yet now you make it sound as if it was a joke."_

_ This was how their fights often were. They didn't scream at each other or raise their voices; it was a battle of patience and low voices. However, once in a while, Tenten couldn't help but snap at him and raise her voice._

_ "You moron!" Neji was startled by her outburst and took a step back in surprise. "What do you mean, I say it so casually? It's tearing me apart but I'm trying to stay calm to not make a scene and handle this maturely! Obviously you didn't hold our relationship at the same level I did and I might not be a relationship expert like Ino but I know that that's a sign this isn't going to work! I loved and still love you, Hyuuga Neji, but I don't want to continue dating you if you think of this as a joke! I'll do anything to happy, but unless you would do that for me, I'm not going to remain in a fake relationship."_

_ "Fake relationship?" Now it was Tenten's turn to look up in shock at his raised voice, "Fake relationship? You thought this was fake? I have never said what I've said to you to anyone else. I have never disagreed with Hiashi-sama on anything besides anything concerning you. I have never felt this way about someone except you. And you accuse me of faking my feelings? Well, if that's your opinion, then perhaps yes, it would be best for us to break up."_

_ The two glared at each other in a stony silence, apologies both at the tip of their tongues, yet their pride refused to crack even the slightest bit because they each felt that though they were at fault, the other was as well. After a few moments, Neji made a kind of 'tch' sound and stormed off. In response, Tenten slammed the door shut and threw herself onto her bed, already regretting the last ten minutes._

Why am I so stupid…?

_Why am I so stupid…?_ Tenten was surprised to hear the same thought echo in her head now. About two years had passed and, as far as Tenten was concerned, Neji hadn't dated anyone else either. However, last night…

_Of course he has a fiancée. He's Neji. He could just raise a finger and girls would instantly flock to him,_ she thought bitterly and clutched the serving tray tighter to her chest. It still pained her to talk to him, because she still had unresolved feelings for him. She couldn't help it; he was her first, serious, non-puppy love, and she would never forget him, no matter how hard she tried. Some things just never left her, and Neji was one of those things.

"Oi. Table. Go," Tenten felt herself pushed forward by probably a senior waitress and she grumbled something incoherent as she walked towards the table. She put on the bright smile when she reached them. _You can do this. You've been pretending for the last two years, you can do this for another hour._

"Good afternoon, and welcome to Konoha Leaf. What would you like to drink?" Tenten recited her script, smiling at the two. "Good to see you again, Neji. And good to see you, Sasuke."

"Water," Sasuke nodded back in acknowledgement then glanced at Neji, smirking slightly. "Hyuuga? Tell the nice girl what you would like to drink."

"Shut up, Uchiha," Neji growled then looked at Tenten, his eyes softening. "Water as well. And," he added as she turned around and began to walk off, "What time do you get off today?"

Tenten turned around, blinking in surprise. "It's Saturday so… we close after lunch service and reopen for dinner. So… I'm off around two."

"Okay," Tenten cursed the butterflies in her stomach at his smile, "I'll meet you outside at two."

Sasuke watched as Tenten walked off then turned back to Neji and smirked. Neji glanced back and scowled. "What?"

"Watching you nervous is fun."

"You sadist."

"Yeah," Sasuke nodded and leaned back against the booth and crossed his arms, looking smug and satisfied. "That's what Sakura says too."

**-X-x-X-**

Tenten hadn't been this nervous since her last final, when she was bordering on a C and D in differential calculus and it was the deciding factor if she would graduate. Luckily, she managed to pull her grade up to a solid C and graduated easily. However, she knew it wouldn't be so clear cut this time.

_What does Neji want?_ She asked herself as she pushed through the doors and squinted at the bright sun. She looked around for signs of the long haired Hyuuga. She almost rolled her eyes and walked back in, deciding that Neji didn't show up when she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around, smiling. _He'd never stand me up._

"Tenten."

"Hi, Neji!" she smiled brightly and straightened up; the pose she had perfected for this job. The bright smile and perfect posture got her through almost every situation imaginable; it calmed angry customers and instilled confidence that they would get their food soon. No one ever questioned it. Until now, anyway.

"That's fake."

"…Huh?" Tenten's smile slid off her face and she looked at him with a questioning gaze. The way he was looking at her sent every nerve in her body haywire; she wanted to hide away yet run five miles at the same time. "What do you mean?"

"Your smile," he answered simply, "Is fake. You're forcing it. It's not your genuine smile. I know because I've learned the differences between your genuine and fake smiles and the consequences."

Tenten blinked and tilted her head, laughing. _He still knows me so well._ Neji smiled in response at the sound of her laughter. It had always been one of his favorite sounds, and he would always find himself doing stupid things just to hear it. "And that is the genuine smile of yours that I fell in love with."

Tenten decided to ignore the sudden skip in her heartbeat at that. She cleared her throat and sat down on the bench next to the potted tree that her boss insisted brought a natural feeling to the restaurant and patted the empty space next to her, indicating for Neji to sit down as well. "So, do you like the food here that much to come back again?" she asked as he sat down, trying to make small talk. She wasn't sure why he wanted to meet her but as long as he was here, she decided that she would make the best of it because she would probably never see him again.

"The food is delicious," Neji answered easily and leaned forward, resting his elbow on his knees and folding his hands. Tenten noted the way his long hair cascaded down his shoulders against the navy blue dress shirt he wore today. The black tie was loosened and the collar was unbuttoned, a look that he always wore when he was taking a break from a professional setting. She would remember looking up to see him march into his or her room and loosen the tie, throwing his jacket to the side and scowling, as if dressing formally killed him.

"Does your fiancée like it here too?" Tenten couldn't help but add a bit of venom into the word 'fiancee' into the already blunt question. Neji looked at her in surprise and she flushed, wishing she had kept her mouth shut or at least ask it in a more polite manner. "I mean… you're twenty three now and she was really pretty… so you know…"

"Hinata-sama is not my fiancée," he smiled in amusement at the fact that his prediction was right and how flustered and self conscious she was getting. Maybe he shouldn't have admonished Sasuke on being a sadist; he enjoyed watching her squirm right now, "She is my cousin. We simply wanted to have a dinner out together."

"…Oh." Tenten felt incredibly silly right now and her cheeks flamed bright red. _Damnit, now I sound like the clingy ex-girlfriend! Damn, damn, damn! Why did I have to ask him that?_

"Are you perhaps… jealous?" he asked lightly and moved closer to her. The scent of her vanilla scented perfume wafted to his nose and he relished the smell; it had been so long since he was this close to her. Now that he had her within a finger's reach, he had no idea how he managed the last two years without her.

"M-me? Jealous?" he remembered her denial face and tone; he always found it adorable, "N-never! No! You're crazy, Hyuuga!"

"I miss that."

"…What?"

"I miss you calling me that and pretending to be threatening."

The brunette blinked and stared at him. A familiar prickly feeling washed over her and her face began to heat up; he always managed to do this with her. Even when she saw his picture in the newspaper, she would stop and stare and smile stupidly. He had this effect on her that she never felt from anyone else, an effect that was probably lethal in high doses but she didn't care. She cast her gaze down, smiling sadly. "Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"…Making me feel this way."

"What way?" Neji was the master of short replies today.

Her eyes flicked up to him momentarily, then back down. She clenched her fists, resting them on her knees as the wind blew by and her bangs brushed across her face. "Making me fall in love with you all over again."

It was silent for a moment before she felt Neji's hand brush a few strands of her light brown hair away. She turned to look at him and immediately she felt his lips on hers gently and chastely. By the time she really registered what was happening he had pulled back and smirked. "If two people are meant to be together, they will find their way back." (1)

Neji wasn't sure what he was expecting when he indirectly told her he was still in love with her. He didn't expect her to come running back into his arms like nothing had happened, but he also wasn't expecting a slap to the face and a magical boyfriend coming out of nowhere. However, the worst reaction would have been silence. He couldn't deal with not knowing what she felt; he would have rather heard her say "it's too late" than to have her just stare at him like right now.

Tenten blinked stupidly and stared at him, her entire body frozen. She felt strangely at peace as his words rang over and over again in her head. _"If two people are meant to be, they will find their way together." Does that mean… does he still… what?_

"Neji," she stopped and bit her lip, "…We broke up. Because of… our differing views on our relationship. If it didn't work the first time then…"

"The first time," Neji had always been a master at masking his emotions, calmly taking her hand while his heart felt like it was going to explode out of his chest, "I was stupid. I didn't realize what I had until I lost it. Hiashi-sama has introduced me to several young women as possible fiancées, but I have rejected every single one of them and made it clear to him that there is only one woman that I could ever be with. I'm sorry for not realizing it earlier and for not fighting harder for you."

"…But… the company… you always…"

"Is mine," he smiled and leaned in, resting his forehead against hers, chuckling at her shocked expression, "I made it clear to him that I wanted to be with you, yet I wanted to fulfill my duties to the family. After graduating, instead of going onto residency, I decided to not become a doctor. I knew that unless I gave Hiashi-sama something in return, he would never allow me even the chance to be with you. Thus, I told him I would be willing to take over the business. But I emphasized that he had to give me the option of you."

"Option…?" Tenten was still in a daze. She had never even dared to dream that she would meet Neji again and that he would still be in love with her. She tended to dream but she always knew her limits; to have done something like this she must have been a saint in her past life. She really wished she knew who she was in the past; that person deserved a huge bouquet of flowers.

"Because," for the first time that day, she heard Neji falter, "I wasn't sure if you would still feel the same way. So… do you?"

And it was finally Tenten's turn to watch Neji be nervous and fidget. She couldn't help but let a smile spread across her blushing cheeks as she laughed and put her hands on either side of his face. "I never stopped. But… we broke up for a reason, right?"

"Right. So we could get back together." (2)

Neji smirked as Tenten laughed again and leaned in to kiss him. At the last second, Neji pulled back cruelly and watched her eyes flutter open and look at him questioningly. "What's wrong?"

"We're not going to have a perfect relationship," he stated flatly, "We're going to have fights. We're going to have differing views. I'm not as perfect as you think I am. We're going to disagree. We're going to stomp out on each other."

Tenten raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Is this some kind of a disclaimer? Trust me, if I'm going to begin a relationship with you, I know what to expect. No relationship is perfect, and we've broken up before. But if we're willing to try again, doesn't that mean that it'll work? As you said, if two people are meant to be together, they will find their way back. If after two years we haven't dated anyone else and pompous Hyuuga Neji has come to track me down and stubborn little me has just gracefully fallen into your arms—"

"Nothing you do is graceful."

"—then I think this is a good indication that we're meant to be," she glared at him lightly for his interruption, but relaxed quickly. She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face into his shirt. "I missed you. So much. I never even dared to dream of something like this happening…"

She heard him laugh and breathed in his scent, missing the proximity and warmth that she had grown accustomed to. "…Neji?"

"Hm?" he answered lazily as he played with the loose strands of hair, feeling more content than he had in a while. He knew he had missed her for the last two years, but now he was wondering how he had survived without her; how could he go a day without seeing her smile or feeling her warmth against him?

"…This is too perfect," she muttered, her face still buried in his shirt, "I'm not used to things working out like this. What happened to you? What happened to the cynical pessimist?"

"Nothing. I'm just making sure that our start is perfect, because I doubt it ever will be again."

"Our start?" she pulled back and instantly, Neji leaned in and kissed her. When he pulled back she pouted. "Not fair, when I tried to do that you pulled away!"

He chuckled and smiled at her. Everything was so peaceful now; as people walked past, the two didn't notice them glancing at them or the dogs barking at them. Tenten was so sure that never again would she meet a person who would have this effect on her. There were very few people that could get Tenten to tune out the rest of the world, but Neji was definitely one of them.

Neji's eyes softened and his hand reached out towards hers and their fingers intertwined.

"The start of eternity."

**Author's Notes: Hi. I changed my pen name, if you raised an eyebrow at 'infinite vertigo' instead of 'Serenity Silence.' Time for a change!**

**In NT100, I used to go "if it reaches a thousand words, I can publish it." Now I am amazed at the fact that I was able to write something that was a thousand words or fewer. Everything that I write now has a tendency to become incredibly long and I don't even know how… I'm so sorry if it just sounds like I'm rambling because, I suppose, I am…**

**Thank you for reading! Please review!**

**(1) As said by Chuck Bass from **_**Gossip Girl**_**. I hope no one sues me. I'm broke.**

**(2) As said by Cory Matthews and Topanga Lawrence from **_**Boy Meets World**_**. Please don't sue me.**


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